Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles: Roads

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of potential hazards involved in the roadside recovery of electric and hybrid electric vehicles on recovery operators and road safety.

Lucy Frazer: In 2020 the Department for Transport commissioned Horiba MIRA, a leading global provider of automotive engineering and research services, to investigate the potential hazards involved in the roadside recovery of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Horiba MIRA were also commissioned to produce a guidance document to help industry understand the potential risks and develop appropriate training and procedures for the roadside recovery of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The guidance document was published in March 2022 and can be found online at GOV.UK by accessing the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recovery-operators-working-with-electric-vehicles.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Growth Plan 2022 on the delivery of road upgrades.

Katherine Fletcher: My officials are already engaging with the delivery agencies whose schemes were identified for acceleration in the growth plan, including local authorities and National Highways, with the intent of removing barriers and delivering the schemes faster. Government is committed to deliver the £24billion Roads Investment Strategy, including 58 major improvement schemes. Ten of these were included on the list of schemes to prioritise for acceleration and we are working with NH to speed up delivery of these to boost growth across all areas of the country.

Aviation: Contracts

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) leasing by airlines on the rights of UK-based airline staff.

Katherine Fletcher: UK based airlines use ACMI to provide additional capacity, often during peak periods, and have done so for many years. The flexibility to bring in additional capacity for limited periods is welcomed by the UK’s largest carriers to manage seasonal changes or when aircraft and crew are otherwise unavailable. This summer has seen an increase in this type of activity for several reasons, including a shortage of aircraft and of cabin crew. The Government will keep the use of ACMI, from UK and foreign providers, under review as the market recovers and evolves following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bus Services: Darlington

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what additional support her Department will provide to bus services in Darlington.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has provided almost £2bn in emergency and recovery funding since March 2020 to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on bus services, alongside routine funding to the sector. Funding for Bus Services in Darlington is provided to the Tees Valley Combined Authority, as well as directly to commercial operators. Since March 2020 Tees Valley Combined Authority has received additional bus emergency and recovery funding totalling £350,088. Tees Valley Combined Authority will also receive £310m as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements. The Department is considering what, if any, additional support may be required from April 2023.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: North East

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequate provision of roadside facilities for hauliers in the North East of England.

Lucy Frazer: The Government recognises the importance of ensuring hauliers have access to appropriate services and facilities. That is why we are investing £52.5 million in roadside facilities in England for HGV drivers on the road. The funding will go towards supporting operators to make improvements such as improving security, sanitary and eating facilities as well as possibly increasing parking spaces for lorry drivers.   We have commissioned a ‘National Survey of Lorry Parking’ which commenced in January 2022 and will be used as our primary evidence base to understand what improvements are most needed and where they are needed. The North East of England is included in this survey and its output will be used to set criteria for government funding. In addition, once published, the Survey will be available to support planning applications for new lorry parking. The Department continues to engage with key stakeholders to encourage the development of more safe, secure, and high-quality lorry parking to improve driver welfare.

Shipping: Alternative Fuels

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Lloyd’s Register Decarbonisation Hub’s Zero Carbon Fuel Monitor, what steps his Department has taken to help increase the readiness of (a) hydrogen, (b) ammonia and (c) methanol as future fuels in shipping.

Lucy Frazer: The Clean Maritime Plan is the Government’s route map for the transition to a future of zero emission shipping. It sets out an ambitious path supporting the achievement of the legislative target for the UK to reach net zero emissions across the economy by 2050. As set out in the 2021 Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the department is taking a two-pronged approach to maritime decarbonisation: a comprehensive policy and regulatory programme; and R&D funding and investment. Hydrogen and hydrogen carriers have been identified as an important part of the solution for the maritime sector. In January 2022, we extended the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), making renewable fuels of non-biological origin for marine use, such as hydrogen and ammonia, eligible for incentives under the RTFO.

Trains: Batteries and Hydrogen

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the first (a) hydrogen, and (b) battery train will be in commercial operation on the rail network.

Kevin Foster: Since the start of 2019, the department has provided over £4m funding through Innovate UK-run First of a Kind competitions for new traction technologies which will help decarbonise the railway. Great Western Railway has signed a deal which will see the first battery-only train enter scheduled passenger service on the Greenford Line on the UK rail network next year, also trialling Vivarail’s new fast charger. The trial is supported by £2.15m funding from the Department for Transport. The deployment of specific hydrogen trains on the UK rail network has not been confirmed yet.

Armed Forces and Veterans: Railways

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) former and (b) current Armed Forces personnel have claimed free allowances for free train travel for Remembrance in each year since his Department has offered it.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of providing free train travel for serving and former Armed Forces personnel to attend remembrance services.

Kevin Foster: The Department for Transport does not hold data on the number of Veterans or Military Personnel using free rail travel to Remembrance events in previous years. Those travelling in their uniform or who held appropriate verification will have been able to travel for free without requiring a ticket to be issued. We will continue to offer free rail travel to Military Personnel and Veterans travelling to Remembrance events this year.

Southeastern Trains: Timetables

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Southeastern Rail sought her Department's permission to reduce train services on the Bexleyheath and Sidcup lines prior to publishing its proposed new timetable.

Kevin Foster: The new timetable has a very similar number of train services to today on both of these routes.

Southeastern Trains: Railway Stations and Timetables

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date Southeastern Rail informed her Department of its proposals to reduce trains from the Bexleyheath and Sidcup lines and remove destinations to London terminals from some of its services.

Kevin Foster: Discussions on the proposed timetable have been ongoing as passenger demand has evolved. The number of train services in the new timetable is broadly very similar to the current timetable on both of these routes.

Southeastern Trains: Timetables

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with Southeastern Rail on that operator's planned timetable changes.

Kevin Foster: The Department has recently engaged on Southeastern’s proposed timetable changes.

Southeastern Trains: Railway Stations and Timetables

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to urge Southeastern Rail to reverse its decision on the reduction of train services and removal of destinations on some of its lines in December 2022 and hold a full consultation with passengers on any proposed changes to those services.

Kevin Foster: The new timetable has a very similar number of train services to today but will be structured to better match space on trains with demand and therefore be more efficient. Throughout the pandemic train operators have had to move at pace to re-write timetables and we are still coming out of a fluctuating situation with customer numbers. The Department for Transport has agreed to allow train operators to continue to implement, demand-led timetables without formal public consultations, during this period. Ending First Class provision on Southeastern services is a move we endorse and will not implement a policy to reverse this change to services.

Bus Services: Finance

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when Bus Service Improvement Plan funding will be delivered to Transport North East.

Lucy Frazer: The Department has been clear that Bus Service improvement Plan funding is conditional on the submission and implementation of a transformational Enhanced Partnership or franchising arrangement. We are currently working with Transport North East on developing their EP with a view to delivering funding once we are satisfied that this is in place.

Bus Services: Local Government

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to allow the creation of municipal bus companies in the upcoming Transport Bill.

Lucy Frazer: The partnership and franchising models currently available through existing legislation allow and indeed encourage Local Transport Authorities to take a leading role in securing improvements to bus services in their area, without the need for completely new municipal bus operations to be established.

Railways: Recruitment

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she had with rail operators on recruitment of train drivers.

Kevin Foster: The Department for Transport has ongoing discussions with train operating companies on a range of matters, including on recruitment of train drivers.

Avanti West Coast: Standards

David Rutley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps her Department has taken to help improve the (a) reliability and (b) frequency of Avanti West Coast train services.

Kevin Foster: The Department has placed Avanti West Coast on a short-term contract and challenged it to deliver the urgent improvement in services required.

Railways: North of England

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to implement Transport for the North’s preferred option for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Kevin Foster: The Prime Minister has made clear the Government wants to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail in full. We intend to engage leaders and honourable members from the North in reaching decisions on the detail of how we deliver this.

High Speed 2 Line: Construction

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that there is adequate monitoring and oversight of the construction of HS2.

Kevin Foster: The Department for Transport monitors the construction of HS2 through formal mechanisms such as the HS2 Development Agreement, and a number of supporting forums which assess whether HS2 is being delivered to budget and schedule, and in accordance with the commitments which accompany both HS2 Acts. The Department also deploys a team of independent Construction Inspectors to provide independent scrutiny of construction, as well as its impact on communities and residents.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to consumer surveys that indicate a significant number of drivers inadvertently forget to arrange an annual test of vehicle safety for a vehicle, and in the context of the availability of the GOV.UK MOT reminder service, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on introducing additional measures so that drivers are encouraged to check their MOT certificate remains valid and in-date.

Katherine Fletcher: The MOT ensures a vehicle meets the minimum safety standard at a point in time. However, it is vital that the vehicle should be maintained throughout the year to avoid becoming defective and unroadworthy. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has relaunched the ‘MOT reminder service’ to make it easier for users to manage their subscriptions and change the vehicles they want a reminder for. Motorists can also use the ‘MOT history service’ (www.gov.uk/check-mot-history), for all categories of vehicle, to check if the vehicle has a current MOT, when the next MOT is due, and see any defects or advisories listed against the vehicle. The DVSA also provides a ‘bulk data service’ (https://dvsa.github.io/mot-history-api-documentation/), which is used by over 700 companies. The service enables companies to download the MOT history data and create their own reminder services, producing a collaborative approach to improve compliance and vehicle safety awareness.

Jet Skis: Health and Safety

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress the Government has made on the consultation launched September 2021 on strengthening the enforcement of safety laws for recreational and personal watercraft.

Lucy Frazer: The Department has received a large number of responses to its consultation. These represent a wide range of detailed views and we are currently reviewing our proposals in light of these to ensure that they will provide an effective and proportionate response to any safety concerns. Once complete, we will bring forward a final package of measures for implementation and are working hard to ensure that this can be delivered as soon as possible.

Speed Limits: Safety

Maria Caulfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing speed limits on road safety for all users.

Katherine Fletcher: The Department published a comprehensive three-year evaluation of the effect of 20mph signed-only limits in November 2018. The report found that while 20mph limits were supported by the majority of residents and drivers, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that that the introduction of 20mph limits in residential areas had led to a significant change in collisions and casualties.

Cycling and Walking: Finance

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to open a fourth round of applications for the Active Travel Fund.

Lucy Frazer: Active Travel England was launched in January 2022 to manage the £710m Active Travel budget and to drive up the standards of Local Authority projects. Further information on the process will be published shortly.

Cycling and Walking: Finance

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to open a fourth round of applications for the Active Travel Fund.

Lucy Frazer: Active Travel England was launched in January 2022 to manage the £710m Active Travel budget and to drive up the standards of Local Authority projects. Further information on the process will be published shortly.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy: Prices

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the announcement of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and the Energy Price Guarantee, for what reasons the level of support for off-grid households was set at £100; and when he plans to provide further information on support to off-grid businesses.

Graham Stuart: £100 provides comparable support to a typical household using heating oil as that provided to a gas heated household benefiting from the Energy Price Guarantee. The Government is working at speed to deliver robust support for off-grid non-domestic consumers and will publish more details in due course.

Heat Pumps: Costs

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the levels of ancillary costs associated with installing heat-pumps in homes including(a) initial surveys, (b) planning permission applications and (c) noise surveys.

Graham Stuart: Most heat pump installations do not require planning permission, and compliance with noise regulations is typically covered as part of a heat pump suitability survey and design work carried out during the installation process. BEIS-commissioned research (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-installing-heating-measures-in-domestic-properties) estimates that the average cost for a suitability survey and design for a typical 3-bedroom house is around £400.

Renewable Energy

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to decouple the cost to the consumer of renewable energy from fossil fuel energy sources on energy bills so that households can see the cost of renewable energy.

Graham Stuart: The Government intends to act at pace to address extraordinary profits that certain renewable generators are receiving from high wholesale electricity prices. We will act to break the link between high global gas prices and charges for low carbon electricity generation, enabling consumers to benefit from low-priced clean electricity while ensuring fair returns for generators.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Disability

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential financial impact of changes to the eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount on people with disabilities who do not claim means-tested benefits.

Graham Stuart: Previously, households not in receipt of means-tested benefits would only be eligible for a Warm Home Discount rebate, if their energy suppliers set additional criteria for the Broader Group. The Government has reformed the scheme in England and Wales from this winter. Households in receipt of means-tested benefits with high energy costs based on certain characteristics of their property will be eligible for the rebate. Around 62% of Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance recipients receive a means-tested benefit. Introducing non-means-tested benefits into the eligibility criteria would mean that many households on lower incomes would be disadvantaged.

Renewable Energy

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of decoupling renewable energy from the wholesale energy market, in the context of the impact of gas prices on that market.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hydrogen: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether any of the hydrogen projects announced in the Growth Plan 2022 will be located in Scotland.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy Price Guarantee

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department will extend the energy price cap to include (a) LPG, (b) heating oil and (c) solid fuel.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Prices

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to extend financial support to assist with the rising cost of energy to households reliant on off grid heating.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Heating: Costs

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the comparative affordability of heating in winter 2022 for (a) on grid and (b) off grid households.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electricity and Heating: Rural Areas

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how rural (a) businesses and (b) households that use (i) kerosene and (ii) generators for (A) heating and (B) electricity will be able to access the financial support made available by his Department in winter 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Heating: Government Assistance

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure households who rely for heating and hot water on (a) district biomass, (b) domestic biomass and (c) solid fuel will receive the planned off-grid energy support during Winter 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Small Businesses: Energy

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the announcement on 21 September 2022 that the Government will take steps to identify the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how it will continue to assist them with energy costs after March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) including butchers on the list of the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and (b) providing a higher level of immediate interim energy cost support for small and medium sized businesses such as butchers which are high energy users and which the Government classed as essential retailers during the covid-19 outbreak.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Meters

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when annual prepayment meter electricity statistics for (a) local authorities, (b) Lower Layer Super Output Areas, (c) Middle Layer Super Output Areas and (d) postcodes in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland will be updated.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fuel Oil and Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Prices

Victoria Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to provide further support in addition to the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme payment and the £100 one-off payment announced on 21 September, for households that are reliant on domestic heating oil and LPG.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fuel Oil: Prices

Victoria Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what medium his Department plans to use to provide the additional payment of £100 to households who are not able to receive support for their heating costs through the Energy Price Guarantee to compensate for the rising costs of alternative fuels such as heating oil as announced on 21 September 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy Bills Rebate

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether people who live in charitable accommodation and pay their rent through an all-inclusive service charge will receive the £400 payment under the Energy Bills Support Scheme (a) directly or (b) through the charity that operates the scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Drax Power Station: Timber

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the report by BBC Panorama on 3 October 2022, regarding the type of wood products selected for burning at Drax power station, if he will make an assessment of how far Drax complies with sustainability criteria for biomass energy.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Land Use: Biofuels

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, (a) whether his Department has assessed the extent to which Defra’s proposed land use framework will utilise (i) nature-based carbon sequestration and (ii) bioenergy with carbon capture & storage technology (BECCS) to meet net zero targets; and (b) if he will publish modelling of the relative cost of meeting the UK’s 4th, 5th and 6th carbon budgets using different ratios of nature restoration and BECCS.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Biofuels: Safety

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, (a) in what way his Department defines ‘sustainable biomass’ and (b) whether that definition takes into account any impact on the health of people living near to the source of the relevant biomass.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

District Heating: Price Caps

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department will provide equivalent support for heat network customers as if being offered by the domestic price cap freeze for the next 2 years.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

District Heating: Prices

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support households on heat networks who are not covered by the domestic price cap.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Tidal Power

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support tidal stream projects; and if he will set a target for marine energy generation.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Tidal Power: Finance

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, (a) what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing ongoing ringfenced support for tidal stream projects in the next contracts for difference scheme; and (b) what the timetable is for announcing the structure of Allocation Round 5 of that scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fuel Oil: Price Caps

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in the context of the support being offered to households for gas and electricity costs, if he will take steps to cap the price retail consumers pay for heating oil.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

China General Nuclear Power Corporation: NNB Generation Company

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2022 to Question 19632, and pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2022 to Question 51767, whether China General Nuclear still remains a shareholder of NNB.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Natural Gas: Safety

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 20 September 2022 to Question 45900 on Natural Gas: Safety, if he will (a) make an estimate of the average costs of capping a gas main to enable the installation of carbon free energy systems, and (b) make an assessment of the potential impact of those costs on the ability of owners of properties connected to the gas mains to afford to install carbon free energy systems; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of allowing suppliers to require customers to meet those costs.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy Bills Rebate

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the £400 energy bill discount will be payable to people who live in a Managed Independent Living retirement complex where each apartment has its own electricity meter, where each tenant pays their share of the electricity bill for the building and where gas is charged according to the square footage of each apartment, with electricity and gas quarterly bills paid to the Trust which manages that complex.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to Answer of 23 September to Answer 51991, what checks were carried out to ensure voluntary commitments to sourcing UK supply chain work were made.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy Bills Rebate

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of making multiple Energy Bills Support Scheme payments to households that have more than one energy supplier.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to Answer of 23 September to Question 51992, whether a list of onshore sites used in decommissioning has been (a) complied and (b) made publicly available.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy Bills Rebate

Victoria Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department expects to provide the additional payment of £100 to households who are not able to receive support for their heating costs through the Energy Price Guarantee to compensate for the rising costs of alternative fuels such as heating oil as announced on 21 September 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Contracts

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of customers on fixed term energy contracts who entered those contracts before April 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fuels: Prices

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the recent reduction in wholesale petrol and diesel costs is passed onto consumers.

Dean Russell: On the 11th June, the then Secretary of State wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to request an urgent review of the fuel market, as well as a longer-term market study under the Enterprise Act 2002, to explore whether the retail fuel market has adversely affected consumer interests. The CMA published their report on 8 July. Their initial findings indicated that the market for the supply of retail fuel in the UK appeared to be relatively competitive. On that basis we would expect reductions in wholesale costs to be passed onto consumers. Previous BEIS analysis has shown that both falls and rises in costs are passed through over the course of a few weeks. The CMA did find some areas that warrant further investigation, and immediately launched a Market Study into the supply of road fuel in the UK. The study will enable the CMA to consider what more can be done to improve outcomes for consumers. It has said that it aims to complete this work well within the statutory 12 month time limit.

Drax Power Station: Timber

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report by Panorama, aired on 3 October 2022 on Drax power station and the burning of wood from primary forests; and what steps he is taking to ensure that biomass complies with strict sustainability criteria.

Graham Stuart: The regulator, Ofgem, is responsible for auditing the sustainability of biomass used by biomass electricity generators who receive support under the Renewables Obligation and has a process in place for this. As is routine, Ofgem is establishing whether the sustainability criteria have been met by the generator. Sustainability information is publicly available on Ofgem’s website, with the latest dataset accessible here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2019-20. The forthcoming Biomass Strategy will set out recommendations for enhancing the UK’s stringent biomass sustainability criteria even further.

Energy: Timber

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the contribution to the UK's net zero target of burning imported wood pellets in UK power stations.

Graham Stuart: The Net Zero Strategy outlined the UK’s ambition of 5MtCO2/year of engineered removals by 2030 and included illustrative ranges of 22-23MtCO2/year of engineered removals by 2035 and 75- 81MtCO2/year by 2050. Bioenergy with Carbon Capture & Storage (BECCS) projects have the potential to play a role in reaching these ambitions as the UK will likely require around 58Mt of negative CO2 emissions via engineered removals by 2050 to meet net zero. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) recommend deploying BECCS in the UK at a potential rate of 53 MtCO2/yr by 2050 which makes BECCS the main option for negative emissions.Through the Biomass Strategy, the UK will establish the role of BECCS in reducing carbon emissions across the economy and set out how the technology could be deployed.

Fuel Oil: Northern Ireland

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant of the Answer on 31 March 2022 to Question 14830 on Fuel Oil, if he will publish the methodology for calculating the £100 targeted support payment the Government is providing to heating oil users in Northern Ireland as part of the energy support package announced on 21 September 2022.

Graham Stuart: The support provided to off-grid households is intended to ensure that they do not face a higher rate of growth in their heating costs since last autumn, compared to those on gas supported by the Energy Price Guarantee.

Northern Ireland Office

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make it his policy to guarantee the equity of provision of abortion services for women and girls in Northern Ireland with the rest of the UK.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government is fully committed to ensuring that all of the recommendations in paragraphs 85 and 86 of the Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, (CEDAW Report) are implemented in Northern Ireland. In 2020, the Government made the Abortion (Northern Ireland) No.2 Regulations 2020 that set the framework for how abortion services should be delivered in Northern Ireland. Those Regulations strike the appropriate balance between delivering a CEDAW compliant legal framework for accessing abortions that ensures the health and safety of women and girls, and are sensitive to the circumstances in Northern Ireland.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on making an assessment of the adequacy of funding for the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government has been clear from the time of the public consultation in late 2019, that as a devolved matter it remains the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive to fund abortion services in Northern Ireland.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had recent discussions with the Minister of Health in the Northern Ireland Executive on that Department's responsibility for the provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland.

Chris Heaton-Harris: On 20 May, 6 June, and 6 September, Northern Ireland Office Ministers wrote to the Minister of Health requesting that he provide a clear and unambiguous commitment that he will comply with the obligations on the Department of Health. The Minister of Health has since responded advising that he is considering advice from the Attorney General for Northern Ireland, and will provide an appropriate response once he has fully considered it. The Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2022 take a dual approach by placing a duty on the Department of Health to act as soon as is reasonably practicable, and taking powers that provide me with the same powers as the Minister of Health for the purpose of implementing these recommendations. A small team of experts has been established within the Northern Ireland Office, and is working closely and at pace with the Department of Health to establish a commissioning plan and determine the necessary steps that need to take place to ensure services are delivered without further delay.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2022 to Question 47608 on Females: Discrimination, what recent discussions has he had with relevant stakeholders to help ensure the commissioning of abortion services for women in Northern Ireland.

Chris Heaton-Harris: My Department engages on a regular basis with a number of stakeholders, including the Department of Health, Northern Ireland clinicians, support organisations, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), and the Faculty for Sexual and Reproductive Health (FSRH). To prepare for the possibility of the Government intervening, a team of experts who have expertise and knowledge of commissioning abortion services has been established within the Northern Ireland Office. The team is working at pace with a range of stakeholders to establish a commissioning plan and determine the necessary steps that need to take place to ensure services are delivered without further delay.

Attorney General

Civil Disorder: Leicester

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the prosecution of people responsible for the public disorder in Leicester around on 20 September 2022.

Michael Tomlinson: CPS East Midlands are working closely with Leicestershire Constabulary on this matter, who are responsible for the investigative strategy. Experienced local CPS prosecutors have been allocated in the Magistrates’ and Crown Court teams to deal with submissions for charging decisions when they are received from the police. There is ongoing daily liaison and planning between both organisations and information sharing to ensure offenders are brought to justice.

Department of Health and Social Care

Maternity Services: Finance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the £95 million of additional funding for maternity services in England announced by her Department in 2021, how many of the additional (a) 1,200 midwives and (b) 100 obstetricians have been recruited to the NHS in England as of 10 October 2022.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Maternity Services: Finance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press notice by the NHS entitled NHS announces £127 million maternity boost for patients and families, published on 24 March 2022, how much and what proportion of the £34 million for (a) local maternity systems, (b) culture and leadership development programmes and (c) supporting staff retention roles has been released to each NHS trust as of 10 October 2022; what estimate she has made of when the remaining funds will be released; and what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the progress that has been made in distributing this funding.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Maternity Services: Finance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press notice by the NHS entitled NHS announces £127 million maternity boost for patients and families, published on 24 March 2022, how much and what proportion of the £50 million to boost staffing numbers in maternity and neonatal services has been released to each NHS trust as of 10 October 2022; what estimate she has made of when the remaining funds will be released; and what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the progress that has been made in distributing this funding.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were removed from hospital waiting lists because their operation was cancelled due to a new (a) referral and (b) medical condition in the latest period for which data is available; and whether this is reflected in the waiting list data published by her Department.

Robert Jenrick: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electronic Cigarettes: Advertising

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the independent review report entitled the Khan review: making smoking obsolete, published on 9 June 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the proposal in that report to modify advertising rules so vaping products can be promoted as a less harmful product.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2022 to Question 18920, on Department of Health and Social Care: Protective Clothing, when her Department began employing three full-time equivalent staff at the SCS1 pay band and 0.5 full-time equivalent staff at SCS2 to oversee the storage of personal protective equipment; and whether the same number of staff are currently employed for that purpose.

Robert Jenrick: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Schools

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2022 to Question 22411 on Coronavirus: Schools, (a) when in October 2022 she expects to receive the findings of the Rapid Covid-19 Air Disinfection Study; (b) whether she will place in the Library of the House of Commons copies of such presentations as she or the Secretary of State for Education intend to share with school leaders and teachers; and (c) what arrangements she has made to share the findings with trade unions representing teachers and also trade unions representing other school staff.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

General Practitioners: Recruitment

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many trainee GPs in receipt of Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme funds remained in rural areas post-training.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Mental Health Services

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that hospitals are complying with Paragraph 20.20 of the Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2022 to Question 49600 on Electronic Cigarettes: Children, what the additional measures are that her Department is considering to help prevent the sale of e-cigarettes to people under the age of 18.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Obesity: Preventive Medicine

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to her Answer of 28 September to Question 51479, why she has not met with obesity prevention charities and organisations since her appointment.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Monkeypox: Vaccination

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason she has decided not to procure additional doses of the monkeypox vaccine.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mental Health Services

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) local authorities and (b) integrated care boards in meeting the requirements of Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health: Equality

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has plans to publish a health disparities white paper.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she will respond to the email sent to her predecessor by the Hon. Member for Chipping Barnet on 1 June 2021.

Robert Jenrick: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Disability: Labelling

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to work with Cabinet colleagues to require disability signage to include an upright stick figure on signage to raise awareness of hidden disabilities; and if she will make a statement.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Negligence

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,  if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility to make claims for the deceased' s loss and suffering to affected people other than the executor in cases of medical negligence.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Consultants

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June to Question 24604, how much her Department spent on external recruitment consultants in 2021.

Robert Jenrick: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Health Services

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the reduced rate of potential cancer sufferers seeing a consultant within two weeks of an urgent GP referral.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Smoking: Health Services

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost of smoking has been to the public purse in England in each year since 2019.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electronic Cigarettes

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding her Department plans to provide to help tackle the sale of illicit vaping products in the upcoming Tobacco Control Plan.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Tobacco

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the Government will fund the next Tobacco Control Plan for England.

Dr Caroline Johnson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of eligible patients who attended cervical screenings in each of the past five years.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps she has taken to improve the rate of uptake in cervical screening.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Protective Clothing: Storage

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many units of personal protective equipment are currently in storage in shipping containers; and what is the cost to the public purse of that storage.

Robert Jenrick: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Evusheld

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to facilitate the availability of Evusheld over the counter at pharmacies rather than by prescription from a GP.

Robert Jenrick: The decision not to procure Evusheld at this time for prevention through emergency routes is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. The decision is based on a range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies. RAPID C-19 monitors activity in clinical trials for emerging evidence and where treatments are proven to be clinically effective, enables access for National Health Service patients. The Chief Medical Officer for England is content that the correct process for providing clinical advice has been followed and it should now be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation. The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce has published this analysis of evidence, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rapid-c-19-oversight-group-report-to-chief-medical-officer-review-of-evusheldA letter was issued to patient groups on 5 September on the evidence and expert analysis for the decision, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decision-on-evusheld-as-a-coronavirus-covid-19-treatment-letter-to-patient-groups

Evusheld: Procurement

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration was given to the recent study of Evusheld efficacy entitled Association Between AZD7442 (Tixagevimab-Cilgavimab) Administration and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection, Hospitalization, and Mortality and published on 29 July 2022 in relation to the Government’s decision announced on 12 August 2022 to not procure Evusheld.

Robert Jenrick: The decision not to procure Evusheld at this time for prevention through emergency routes is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. The decision is based on a range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies, including the Israeli study published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal on 29 July 2022. RAPID C-19 monitors activity in clinical trials for emerging evidence and where treatments are proven to be clinically effective, enables access for National Health Service patients. The Chief Medical Officer for England is content that the correct process for providing clinical advice has been followed and it should now be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation. The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce has published this analysis of evidence, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rapid-c-19-oversight-group-report-to-chief-medical-officer-review-of-evusheldA letter was issued to patient groups on 5 September on the evidence and expert analysis for the decision, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decision-on-evusheld-as-a-coronavirus-covid-19-treatment-letter-to-patient-groups

Immunosuppression: Patients

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings her Department has had with (a) clinically vulnerable, (b) clinically extremely vulnerable and (c) immunosuppressed patient support groups and charities since her appointment.

Robert Jenrick: The COVID-19 vaccination programme has ensured that identifying individuals as clinically vulnerable or clinically extremely vulnerable is no longer necessary. However, there remains a smaller number of people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, despite vaccination.The Enhanced Protection Programme stakeholder forum was held on 23 September 2022. The forum was chaired by Professor Dame Jenny Harries, the Chief Executive of UK Health Security Agency and attended by officials and charities and groups representing immunosuppressed patients. In addition, officials meet with individual charities representing these patients.

Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what threshold of evidence has been set for the procurement of potential future prophylactic covid-19 treatments.

Robert Jenrick: During the pandemic, interim procurement decisions on COVID-19 treatments, including prophylactics, have been based on the available evidence of clinical effectiveness and advice from expert groups, including the multi-agency RAPID C-19. This process considers the available clinical evidence for whether treatments are likely to be effective at preventing symptomatic infection, hospitalisation or mortality from COVID-19.Any future decisions on licensed COVID-19 treatments in England, including prophylactics, will be taken through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s health technology evaluation process.

NHS: Locums and Temporary Employment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 August 2022 to Question 11754 on NHS: Locums and Temporary Employment, for what reason his Department does not collate information on agency staff in the NHS.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 August 2022 to Question 11754 on NHS: Locums and Temporary Employment, what is the most recent validated data his Department holds on the number of agency staff working in the NHS.

Robert Jenrick: Agency workers are not National Health Service employees and data on these staff is held by the employing agency contracted by the NHS. NHS England holds data on agency shifts in the NHS, including the hours worked and cost. However, data on agency shifts translated into the number of full-time equivalent staff is not centrally validated. Data on the number of headcount agency staff is not held centrally.

Sante Global: Contracts

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is currently in dispute with Sante Global, formerly UniSpace Health, over PPE contracts.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is currently in dispute with Ascot Signs over PPE contracts.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is currently in dispute with Carlton Packaging over PPE contracts.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is currently in dispute with Kingsbury Press over PPE contracts.

Robert Jenrick: We are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.

Ambulance Services: Standards

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce the disparity in ambulance response times in (a) urban and (b) rural areas.

Robert Jenrick: Local commissioners and National Health Service ambulance trusts are responsible for the delivery of appropriate response times for local populations. We are providing an additional £150 million for ambulance services in 2022/23 to support improvements in response times through additional call handler recruitment and retention and other funding requirements.All ambulance response time categories contain a 90th centile standard, including in rural areas with potentially longer travel times. Ambulance trusts also deploy Community First Responders to respond to the highest priority 999 calls and provide interventions while ambulances are en route, including in rural areas.

Alfacalcidol

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the UK's supply of alfacalcidol.

Robert Jenrick: There have been no specific discussions.The Department works with suppliers, NHS England, the devolved administrations, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and expedite resupply where possible to ensure that any risks to patients are minimised.The Department is aware of a shortage of alfacalcidol one microgram capsules affecting one of three suppliers due to manufacturing delays. We understand that this issue is due to be resolved in November 2022. Two alternative suppliers hold stock of all strengths of alfacalcidol capsules with no anticipated supply issues.

Evusheld: Procurement

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement on 12 August 2022 that Government will not be procuring any doses of Evusheld at this time, if he will set out in detail the decision making process including (a) what discussions were held by those responsible for making that decision, (b) what evidence informed that decision and (c) the rationale for that decision, in the four weeks before that procurement decision was taken.

Robert Jenrick: The decision not to procure Evusheld at this time for prevention through emergency routes is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. The decision is based on a range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies. RAPID C-19 monitors activity in clinical trials for emerging evidence and where treatments are proven to be clinically effective, enables access for National Health Service patients. The Chief Medical Officer for England is content that the correct process for providing clinical advice has been followed and it should now be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation. The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce has published this analysis of evidence, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rapid-c-19-oversight-group-report-to-chief-medical-officer-review-of-evusheldA letter was issued to patient groups on 5 September on the evidence and expert analysis for the decision, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decision-on-evusheld-as-a-coronavirus-covid-19-treatment-letter-to-patient-groups

NHS: Pensions

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to make the NHS Pension Scheme a tax unregistered scheme to help increase senior consultant retention.

Robert Jenrick: The Government has no plans to introduce a tax unregistered pension scheme for the National Health Service. The majority of NHS Pension Scheme members can build their pensions tax-free and an unregistered arrangement would remove this tax relief on contributions and a tax-free lump sum of up to 25% of the value of their pension on retirement. The Government has asked NHS England to work with NHS organisations to introduce schemes to allow recycling of employer pension contributions to high earners who opt out of the NHS Pension scheme due to the impact of pension tax.

Cancer: Children

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding her Department has allocated to research into childhood cancer in each of the last 5 years.

Robert Jenrick: This information is not collected in the format requested. The Department uses the Health Research Classification System Health Categories, which was developed by the UK Clinical Research Collaboration Partners and designed to provide a strategic overview of health research funding. The National Institute for Health and Care Research funds cancer research from early translation and experimental medicine research to clinical and applied health and social care research.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects to provide substantive answers to Questions 48257, 48258, 48259 and 48260, tabled on 6 September by the Right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford.

Robert Jenrick: I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answers I gave on 27 September to Questions 48257, 48258, 48259, and 48260.

Evusheld: Procurement

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement on 12 August 2022 that the Government will not be procuring any doses of Evusheld, and to data in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, published on 29 July 2022, which showed that immunocompromised individuals administered with that drug were 92 per cent less likely to be hospitalised or die than those who did not receive it, if he will reconsider the decision not to procure any doses of Evusheld.

Robert Jenrick: The decision not to procure Evusheld at this time for prevention through emergency routes is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. The decision is based on a range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies. RAPID C-19 monitors activity in clinical trials for emerging evidence and where treatments are proven to be clinically effective, enables access for National Health Service patients. The Chief Medical Officer for England is content that the correct process for providing clinical advice has been followed and it should now be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation. The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce has published this analysis of evidence, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rapid-c-19-oversight-group-report-to-chief-medical-officer-review-of-evusheldA letter was issued to patient groups on 5 September on the evidence and expert analysis for the decision, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decision-on-evusheld-as-a-coronavirus-covid-19-treatment-letter-to-patient-groups

Evusheld

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 14 June 2022 to Question 11547 on Evusheld, on what date (a) the UK Health Security began testing the efficacy of Evusheld against the covid-19 Omicron variant and (b) she expects that testing will be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: The UK Health Security Agency began testing of Evusheld in March 2022, which was completed in May 2022. The decision not to procure Evusheld at this time for prevention through emergency routes is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. The decision is based on a range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies. RAPID C-19 monitors activity in clinical trials for emerging evidence and where treatments are proven to be clinically effective, enables access for National Health Service patients. The Chief Medical Officer for England is content that the correct process for providing clinical advice has been followed and it should now be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation. The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce has published this analysis of evidence, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rapid-c-19-oversight-group-report-to-chief-medical-officer-review-of-evusheldA letter was issued to patient groups on 5 September on the evidence and expert analysis for the decision, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decision-on-evusheld-as-a-coronavirus-covid-19-treatment-letter-to-patient-groups

Carers

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to provide support for unpaid carers in the context of the cost of living crisis, including ensuring (a) access to breaks, (b) respite and care services and (c) support to balance paid work with care.

Neil O'Brien: The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a range of sustainable high-quality care and support services, including for unpaid carers. Local authorities are required to undertake a Carer’s Assessment for any unpaid carer who appears to have a need for support and to meet their eligible needs on request from the carer.Funding for respite and short breaks for carers is included in the National Health Service contribution to the Better Care Fund (BCF). In 2022/23, £291.7 million from the BCF is earmarked to provide short breaks and respite services and advice and support for carers under the Care Act. Legislation to introduce one week of leave for unpaid carers will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.Many carers will be amongst the eight million low-income households in receipt of a means-tested benefit who will receive the £650 Cost of Living payment. Six million people in receipt of an eligible disability benefit will also receive the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, which includes carers in receipt of a qualifying benefit. The Pensioner Cost of Living Payment of £300 per household will be paid with the winter fuel payment this winter.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment she has made of the variation in the dementia diagnosis rate between Integrated Care Systems in Enfland; and if she will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England has commissioned the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network to investigate the underlying variation in dementia diagnosis rates in targeted areas in England. This includes the assessment of underlying population characteristics such as rurality, ethnicity and age to provide context for variation and enable targeted investigation and provision of support locally to enhance diagnosis rates.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Alzheimer's Society's Left to Cope Alone report published in June 2022, what steps she is taking to ensure the 30,000 additional people awaiting a dementia diagnosis since March 2020 are diagnosed as soon as possible.

Neil O'Brien: In 2021/22, we made £17 million available to clinical commissioning groups to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses. NHS England is currently reviewing the final assurance reporting on the use of this funding, which was disbursed to systems in June 2021. This aims to identify areas of good practice in dementia diagnosis and provision of pre and post diagnostic support to share with dementia clinical networks and stakeholders in 2023.

Dementia: Health Services

Alex Davies-Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Alzheimer's Society's Left to Cope Alone report published in June 2022, whether it is her Department's policy that every person diagnosed with dementia should have guaranteed access to a dementia support worker or similar service.

Neil O'Brien: The provision of dedicated dementia support and community link workers is determined locally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for services and support for people with dementia. NHS England expects ICBs to commission services which take into account relevant guidance, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines and the Dementia Care Pathway, which sets out benchmarks to improve the delivery and quality of care and support.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Alex Davies-Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure people living with dementia in rural communities can access a timely diagnosis.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England has commissioned the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network to investigate the underlying variation in dementia diagnosis rates in targeted areas in England. This will include social and economic deprivation; rurality; demographic characteristics including age, ethnicity and educational attainment; and general health and life expectancy.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has plans to hold discussions with representatives of (a) the Alzheimer's Society and (b) other dementia charities on the dementia diagnosis rate in England.

Neil O'Brien: There are no current plans to do so. However, Ministers and officials aim to meet regularly with charities on a range of issues.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Alex Davies-Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the devolved administration in Wales and (b) English local authorities on dementia diagnosis rates.

Neil O'Brien: There have been no recent discussions.

Obesity

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle obesity.

Dr Caroline Johnson: New Regulations on out-of-home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses, including restaurants, cafes and takeaways, came into force on 6 April 2022.  We are also working with the food industry to ensure it is easier for people to make healthier choices and increase progress on the reformulation of foods. In addition, weight management services are available to support adults and children living with obesity to achieve a healthier weight.

Health: Equality

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains her Department's policy to publish the health disparities white paper by the end of 2022; whether that white paper will include a cross-government strategy; and what the main priorities of that white paper will be.

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she will publish the Health Disparities White Paper; and what discussions she has had with cabinet colleagues on a cross-government strategy within that White Paper.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains her intention to publish the Health Disparities White Paper by the end of 2022.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to publish the health disparities white paper.

Dr Caroline Johnson: ‘Our plan for patients’, published on 22 September, sets out the immediate priorities to support individuals to live healthier lives, including improving access to health and care services. In addition, the Department continues to review how health disparities can be addressed and further information will be available in due course.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is her policy to maintain the Mental Health Investment standard set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Dr Caroline Johnson: We remain committed to ensuring commissioners continue to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard. We continue to increase investment in mental health services from approximately £11 billion in 2015/16 to £15 billion in 2021/22. ‘Our plan for patients’ aligns with the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitments to expand National Health Service mental health services.

Autism and Hyperactivity: Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2022 to Question 33842 on Autism and Hyperactivity: Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients, further to WPQ 33842, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 of people with (a) autism, (b) ADHD and (c) Asperger's Syndrome; and what steps he is taking to ensure that such detention is being used proportionately.

Dr Caroline Johnson: We have no plans to make a specific assessment. The NHS Digital Assuring Transformation collection records data on people with a learning disability and autistic people who are inpatients in mental health hospitals and whose care is commissioned by commissioners in England. It collects the person’s status under the Mental Health Act 1983 and data on whether a person has a learning disability or is autistic. Since April 2021, further details of a person’s diagnosis on admission and additional diagnoses post-admission has been recorded. This includes whether a person has a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the published data does not currently provide information on condition or diagnosis by status under the Mental Health Act.The proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act aim to ensure that patients will only be detained if there will be a therapeutic benefit from the treatment allowed for by the detention. This is designed to ensure care and treatment provided under the Act will promote and facilitate recovery and allow patients to be discharged as soon as possible.In addition we are working with NHS Digital and NHS England to improve data on autism and ADHD, including improving the quality of relevant datasets such as the Mental Health Services Dataset and the Community Services dataset.

Obesity: Children

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she will take to reduce obesity levels among primary school-aged children.

Dr Caroline Johnson: We remain committed to ensuring people can live healthier lives and addressing obesity.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs: Speech and Language Disorders

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many mainstream schools have an (a) unit and (b) resource base attached to them to support children with speech and language development.

Kelly Tolhurst: As of January 2022, there were a total of 1,451 state-funded nursery, primary and secondary schools with a special educational needs (SEN) unit and/or resource provision. Of those schools, 433 report their type of SEN provision as ‘Speech, Language and Communication’ (118 with SEN units, 297 with resource provision and 18 with both).

T-levels

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the destinations of students that received a T level statement of achievement.

Andrea Jenkyns: The first cohort of T Level students completed their courses this summer. UCAS has published some initial data about T Level applicants and acceptances to higher education (HE). This can be found at: https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/first-exam-year-pandemic-sees-record-numbers-entering-higher-education.The onward destinations of students will be published when the relevant data is available, to enable destinations to be identified and reported.

T-levels

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the destinations of students that started, but did not complete, a T level.

Andrea Jenkyns: The first cohort of T Level students completed their courses this summer. UCAS has published some initial data about T Level applicants and acceptances to Higher education. This can be found at: https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/first-exam-year-pandemic-sees-record-numbers-entering-higher-education. The onward destinations of students will be published when the relevant data is available to enable destinations to be identified and reported.

Higher Education: Admissions

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) A level, (b) Applied General, and (c) T level students that began their course in the academic year 2020-21 (i) applied for and (ii) accepted a place in higher education.

Andrea Jenkyns: The onward destinations of students will be published when the relevant data is available to enable destinations to be identified and reported. The statistical data for the number of A level and Applied General students who began their courses in academic year 2020/21 and who applied for and were accepted for a place in higher education (HE), are not yet available. In reference to T Level students only, UCAS have reported observing the first T level cohorts receive their results this summer, with 410 of the 510 applicants (80%) accepted onto HE courses. More information can be found here: https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/first-exam-year-pandemic-sees-record-numbers-entering-higher-education.

Computers: Education

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take steps to provide funding for computer programming courses in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency and (b) England.

Andrea Jenkyns: There are a range of just over 200 digital qualifications which are nationally available for funding both those 16 to 19 and adults, and this will include availability in Newcastle Upon Tyne. These qualifications will be at a range of levels and will include broader qualifications covering a range of IT, digital and computing skills, as well as level 2 and level 3 qualifications in computing which will have a greater focus on aspects of programming. Three T Levels in Digital are now available in a number of providers across the country, Digital Business Services, Digital Production, Design and Development, and Digital Support Services. They offer a prestigious, high-quality technical option at level 3, supporting progression to occupations such as software development technician. Colleges in Newcastle and its surrounding areas are now offering T Levels in the digital route. Through the Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs offer, we have made more than 400 level 3 courses free for adults learning below the national living wage and those that haven’t previously obtained a level 3 qualification. Courses are available in a range of digital skills, including: cyber security, coding, network architecture, and systems support. We are also expanding Skills Bootcamps, which are free, flexible courses in job specific skills, including in digital areas such as software development, coding and data analytics. A large number of digital Skills Bootcamps are being delivered online and are available to learners across the country, however there are courses being delivered in person, which are available at Gateshead College, Tyne Coast College and Northumbria University. Newcastle Upon Tyne is a devolved area for the purposes of the Adult Education Budget (AEB), which means that it is responsible for the provision of adult education and allocation of the AEB in the area including determining what adult provision to fund to meet learner and employer demand.

T-levels

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he had with (a) employers and (b) universities on the value of the T level statement.

Andrea Jenkyns: Issuing a Statement of Achievement for students as recognition of their partial achievement of a T Level was outlined as part of the department’s consultation response on T Level implementation. Over 92% of the respondents to the consultation, which included further education (FE) colleges, employer representative bodies, employers and universities, agreed that partial achievement should be reflected in students’ transcripts. Discussions with employers and universities following the publication of the consultation response has indicated that they continue to support this position. The department continually references the value of the Statement of Achievement in guidance and engagement with providers, employers and universities, and we are currently working with the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) to agree awarding of UCAS tariff points for partial achievement of a T Level. Partial achievement was also recognised as part of the provisional T Level results from the year 2021/2022.The report can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/provisional-t-level-results/2021-22.statistics.service.gov.uk).

Pupils: Assessments

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students commenced (a) A level, (b) Applied General and (c) T level qualifications in the academic year 2020-21; and what proportion of each (i) completed and (ii) passed their qualification.

Andrea Jenkyns: The department has published official data on 16 to 18-year-olds’ participation, which includes A level, Applied General and T Level student numbers. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/participation-in-education-training-and-employment-2021.Information on learner completions is provided to the department from schools and colleges through the Individualised Learner Record or School Census returns, by the January following each academic year. Therefore, the department is currently unable to provide the information on student completions at present.In reference to T Level students, 1,241 students enrolled on the first wave of T Levels in September 2020. 1,029 students achieved a T Level result this summer and received their overall grade on 18 August.The overall pass rate for these learners was 92.2%. This figure is subject to change, as a small number of students will complete their remaining industry placement hours and will receive their overall grade this autumn.

Prime Minister

Intelligence and Security Committee

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament Annual Report 2019–2021, published on 10 December 2021, HC 877, whether she plans to update the Memorandum of Understanding between the Prime Minister and the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the written statement issued on 10 December 2021 by the previous Prime Minister (UIN HCWS464). The Government remains confident that the current Memorandum of Understanding with the Committee is sufficient to allow for robust oversight of the Agencies and wider Intelligence Community.

Egypt: Climate Change Convention

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Prime Minister, whether she plans to attend the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Summit in Sharm el Sheikh.

Elizabeth Truss: My Rt Hon. Friend the COP26 President is working closely with Egypt in the run up to COP27. The composition of the UK Government's delegation will be announced in due course.

Treasury

Double Taxation: Malawi

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Malawi on reform of the 1955 UK-Malawi Double Taxation Agreement and associated protocols.

Richard Fuller: HMRC regularly engages with other countries on matters relating to double taxation agreements (DTAs), including negotiating new DTAs, updating existing DTAs and discussing issues with the application of DTAs with our treaty partners.

Taxation: Disclosure of Information

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he will publish HMRC assessments for all of the new tax measures he set out on 23 September 2022, including those which will take effect in future tax years.

Richard Fuller: HMRC publishes a summary of impact assessments for tax measures within Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs), which provide a clear statement of the policy objective, impact on the Exchequer, the economy, individuals, businesses and civil society organisations, as well as any equality and other specific impacts. The TIINs for tax measures will be published when the associated legislation is introduced.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the distributional impact on household budgets of his decision to reduce the basic rate of Income Tax in his oral statement in the House of 23 September by equivalised household income vigintile.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the distributional impact on household budgets of his decision to abolish the Health and Social Care Levy announced in his oral statement in the House of 23 September by equivalised household income vigintile.

Richard Fuller: Across both the changes to National Insurance contributions through the abolition of the Health and Social Care Levy and the reduction in the basic rate of income tax over 30 million people will see a tax cut. For example, someone earning £30,000 will pay £400 less tax next year. Further information on the impact of the decision to abolish the Health and Social Care Levy can be found in the Tax Information and Impact Note accompanying the legislation: Reversal of the Health and Social Care Levy and in-year reductions for National Insurance contributions rates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A Tax Information and Impact Note will be published for the reduction in the basic rate of income tax when the legislation is introduced.

Energy: Taxation

Sarah Olney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential amount of excess profit to be made by oil and gas companies in this financial year which will be taxed as part of the Energy Profits Levy.

Richard Fuller: The Treasury has made no such estimates. The Energy Profits Levy is an additional 25% surcharge on UK oil and gas profits, taking the combined headline tax rate for oil and gas companies operating in the UK and on the UK Continental Shelf to 65%. The levy was introduced from 26 May in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year which have significantly increased profits earned from UK oil and gas extraction. The Government has calculated that it expects the levy to raise over £7 billion in 2022/23. This is based on forecast oil and gas prices. Revenues raised by the levy will help fund vital support for households, helping them to respond to significant cost of living pressures.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department undertook an assessment of the potential impact on alcohol harm of the measures on alcohol duty announced in the Chancellor's statement on Growth Plan on 23 September 2022, before those measures were announced.

Felicity Buchan: At the Growth Plan the Chancellor announced the next steps in the alcohol duty reforms and a freeze to all alcohol duties from 1 February 2023. For the first time, we are taxing all beverages in proportion to their alcoholic strength. This will help address harmful products like ‘white’ ciders and strong fortified wines, which are often cited by health groups as being abused. We are also reducing the tax burden on lower ABV products, encouraging consumers to switch and manufacturers to expand their offering of products in this range. We are mindful of the impact on businesses and growth, and have aimed to strike a pragmatic balance between public health and the economic impacts on consumers and industry.

Gift Aid: Taxation

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent tax changes on the income charities receive through Gift Aid.

Felicity Buchan: On 23 September, the Government announced that the reduction to the basic rate of income tax would be brought forward by one year, and alongside this announced a transition period for Gift Aid to support the charities sector. Worth over £300m, this will maintain the rate of Gift Aid at 20% for four years, until April 2027, giving almost 70,000 charities time to transition to the lower basic rate of tax.

Banks and Income Tax

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will benefit over the course of the present Parliament from the measures announced in his statement made on 23 September 2022 on (a) removing the cap on bankers bonuses and (b) abolishing the additional rate of income tax.

Andrew Griffith: Regarding the removal of the bankers’ bonus cap, the Government has not assessed the numbers affected. The Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority have announced their intention to consult on the removal of the cap this Autumn, and as part of that will consider the overarching costs and benefits of the proposals against their statutory objectives. Regarding the additional rate of tax, the Government is committed to lowering the tax burden and growing the economy, but has decided not to abolish the additional rate of tax in 2023 and is focussed on delivering the major parts of the Growth Plan. This plan sets out a new approach to build a more prosperous economy, from supporting British business to lowering the tax burden for the lowest paid.

Banks: Incentives

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the distributional impact on household budgets of his proposal to remove the cap on bankers bonuses made in his oral statement in the House of 23 September by equivalised household income vigintile.

Andrew Griffith: The Government has not made an assessment of the distributional impact of removing the bankers’ bonus cap. The Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority have announced their intention to consult on the removal of the cap this Autumn, and as part of that will consider the overarching costs and benefits of the proposals against their statutory objectives.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Mahsa Amini

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the death of Mahsa Amini.

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on potential human rights abuses in Iran.

Gillian Keegan: The death of Mahsa Amini in Iran is a shocking reminder of the repression faced by women in Iran. The Foreign Secretary summoned Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK to call for a transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death and to condemn the subsequent violent crackdown on protestors. The UK made clear that instead of blaming external actors for unrest, Iranian authorities should take responsibility and listen to concerns of their people.On 10 October, the UK sanctioned the so-called Morality Police, two of its leaders and five others for serious human rights violations. These sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities that the UK will hold them to account for their repression of women and girls and for the shocking violence inflicted on their people.

India: Visas

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Government of Indian on the reinstatement of E Visa applications for British citizens wishing to visit India.

Gillian Keegan: We regularly raise our concerns regarding our exclusion from the list of countries eligible for e-visas with the Government of India (GoI). The Prime Minister, whilst Foreign Secretary, raised this matter with the Indian External Affairs Minister during her visit to India in March. We continue to work closely with the GoI on this issue, while respecting it is for them to determine the types and validity of the visas it offers. British nationals can continue to use the GoI's regular/paper visa application services for all visa categories. We will update India Travel Advice with the latest information if there are any changes in India's visa rules.

Development Aid: Infant Mortality and Maternal Mortality

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the Overseas Development Aid budget was allocated to ending the preventable deaths of (a) mothers, (b) new-borns and (c) children in 2020 and 2021.

Vicky Ford: We do not calculate spend on ending preventable deaths interventions in their totality. As set out in the UK's Ending the Preventable Deaths of mothers, babies and children (EPD) Approach paper, EPD requires work across sectors to address the complex pathways leading to mortality, including family planning, nutrition, water and sanitation and health systems strengthening.FCDO spend is calculated using OECD-DAC sector codes. Details of FCDO spend by sector code for 2020 is available in the Statistics on International Development publication here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development and details of FCDO spend for 2021 will be published on the same page later this year.

Palestinians: Development Aid

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the reduction in the level of Official Development Assistance to the UN Relief and Works Agency on the provision of essential services for Palestinian refugees in (a) the Occupied Palestinian Territories, (b) Jordan and (c) Lebanon.

Gillian Keegan: Following the move in 2020 from spending 0.7 % of gross national income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.5%, the FCDO aid budget was allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate. The UK remains a long standing supporter of UNRWA and values its importance as a vital humanitarian and stabilising force in the region.

Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he expects to announce the UK's contribution to the 7th Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; and if he will make a statement.

Vicky Ford: The UK is proud to be the Global Fund's third largest donor historically, investing over £4.4 billion since 2002. At the seventh replenishment pledging conference the UK committed to remain a strong supporter of the Global Fund. A Written Ministerial Statement will be laid before Parliament to confirm our pledge in the coming weeks.

Pakistan: Humanitarian Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of humanitarian support pledged by the Government to Pakistan following flooding in that country has been disbursed to date.

Gillian Keegan: The UK stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Pakistan, as it faces the consequences of the recent devastating flooding. Of the £16.5 million to support flood relief and recovery efforts, agreements with implementing partners covering £16 million of funding have been signed. £1.5 million has been disbursed for the provision of hygiene and dignity kits, mobile health units including public health messaging, and multi-purpose cash grants. £5 million in matched funds for the Disasters Emergency Committee has also been disbursed to leading charities to respond to immediate needs.

Occupied Territories: Refugees

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what services for refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territories were commissioned using UK Official Development Assistance spending in the most recent three financial years for which data are available.

Gillian Keegan: We are longstanding supporters of the UNRWA and their work to provide essential services to Palestinian refugees across the region, including in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). Data on ODA spend in the OPTs, including our support to UNRWA, is available on DevTracker.

UNRWA

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) international partners and (b) the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on the UNRWA funding model.

Gillian Keegan: We are longstanding supporters of the UNRWA and their work to support Palestinian refugees across the region. At the UNRWA pledging conference in New York in June 2022, we announced a new multi-year funding programme with the agency and will provide £15m in 2022. On 22 September in New York, Lord Ahmad attended a Ministerial dialogue on UNRWA's financial situation where he reiterated UK support for the agency and the need to be on a more viable financial footing.

Israel and Occupied Territories: Human Rights

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to promote women’s human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Gillian Keegan: Israel and the OPTs remain a human rights priority for the FCDO. Women's rights are a crucial element underpinning the UK's foreign policy. This is why we regularly raise concerns with the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, where they exist, regarding violations of women's rights. We continue to urge the Palestinian Authority to pass legislation to protect and progress women's rights in line with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Through our programming in the OPTs, the UK has previously supported work to introduce this legislation, as well as providing essential services for victims of gender-based violence and promoting women's political and economic empowerment.

Ukraine: War Crimes

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps are being taken to provide Ukrainian prosecutors with forensic support following the exhumation of mass graves in territories liberated from Russia in the Kharkiv region.

Leo Docherty: The Attorney General led a scoping mission to the region in May to assess how the UK could help Ukraine identify and collect evidence of atrocities. Since then, we have been supporting the Office of the Prosecutor General's capacity to investigate potential war crimes committed in Ukraine. Our £2.5 million support package includes: working with the EU and US to create the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group; the deployment of Mobile Justice Teams to war crime scenes; training of up to 90 judges; support from UK experts on sexual violence in conflict; and support for forensic evidence gathering.

Belarus: Civil Society

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support civil society groups in Belarus.

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support independent civil society in Belarus.

Leo Docherty: We are supporting civil society and independent media in Belarus and have significantly increased our funding since 2019.The UK has imposed over 100 sanctions in response to the fraudulent elections, human rights violations, and repression of civil society and democratic opposition in Belarus. The UK is pleased to have worked alongside Germany, Denmark and other partners to establish the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB) in 2021. We are also strong and vocal supporters of the UN's mandate on accountability in Belarus. We back the extension of this UN mandate, and are working to ensure collaboration between the IAPB and UN, strengthening shared efforts to hold the Lukashenko regime to account for its reprehensible actions.

Ukraine: British Nationals Abroad

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in what unit of Ukraine's armed forces (a) Andrew Hill and (b) John Harding were serving when captured by Russian forces.

Leo Docherty: Andrew Hill and John Harding were captured earlier this year while serving as members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The exact terms of their service are a matter for the Government of Ukraine.

Armenia: Azerbaijan

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with international counterparts to help ensure peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Leo Docherty: UK diplomats continue to engage with international counterparts to support OSCE and EU-led negotiations to secure a sustainable and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The UK Government has been clear that the outstanding matters between the parties can only be settled by peaceful negotiation and I reinforced this position with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers on 15 and 17 September respectively.

Export Control Joint Unit: Staff

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many officials in his Department worked in the Export Control Joint Unit in each year between 2018 and 2022 inclusive.

Leo Docherty: Between 2018 and 2022 inclusive, on average approximately between ten to twenty Foreign and Commonwealth Office (later Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) officials worked in the Export Control Joint Unit within each year.

Ministry of Defence

Army: Overtime

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the total number of excessive hours worked by Army personnel in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the total number of excessive hours worked by Army personnel in each year since 2010.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the total number of excessive hours worked by Tri-Service personnel in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the total number of excessive hours worked by Tri-Service personnel in each year since 2010.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the target for the average number of hours worked by Armed Forces personnel each week by (a) service and (b) rank.

Sarah Atherton: The MOD measures and describes the working patterns of personnel through the annual UK Armed Forces Continuous Working Patterns Survey (CWPS). The CWPS is a sample exercise in the form of a seven-day diary completed by trained UK Regular personnel to record the number of hours spent at work, on call, on breaks, and off duty to calculate averages for the Armed Forces. The 2021/22 CWPS can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-continuous-working-patterns-survey-202122 The MOD does not set Service personnel specific targets to work a certain number of hours. Routinely, where possible, the Armed Forces’ intent is for all personnel to work a normal working day (e.g. 08:30 to 17:00) five days a week, or equivalent for shift workers, although this is subject to change depending upon operational tempo and other commitments. The Working Time Regulations (WTR) do not apply to the Armed Forces, however Commanding Officers must nevertheless ensure that where any official orders set out timings and tasks, the orders should comply with the WTR unless an exception applies. The Chain of Command informally monitors hours worked at a local and unit level to ensure that personnel do not under or over work. Annual leave is subject to formal recording and is actively managed by the Chain of Command to ensure personnel take adequate leave; any accrued leave can be carried over in line with departmental policy.

Kosovo: Security

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the security situation in Kosovo in the context of recent tensions between the governments of Kosovo and Serbia.

James Heappey: The UK, with international partners, devotes sustained political and diplomatic effort to securing progress in the EU-facilitated Dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, and to de-escalating tensions, including through active engagement by the PM's Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Sir Stuart Peach. We welcome recent agreement on the use of Identification Documents, helping to defuse tensions over the summer, and encourage a similarly constructive approach in tackling further outstanding issues. The UK remains committed to ensuring a safe and secure environment for all in Kosovo, underlined by our continued commitment to NATO's KFOR mission.

KFOR

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK has offered additional support to the NATO KOFOR mission in Kosovo in the past six months to help ensure peace is maintained in the country.

James Heappey: The UK has an enduring commitment to supporting security and stability in Kosovo and the wider Western Balkans region. This is demonstrated by our continued commitment to the NATO missions in the region. There are 41 UK personnel currently deployed to NATO's KFOR mission. This includes 2 staff officers in the KFOR HQ and an Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) Task Force which provides a highly valued capability. We also provide a Battalion sized Strategic Reserve Force (SRF) which is held at 14 days' notice to move in the UK. This autumn c345 soldiers from 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers will be deploying into Kosovo to participate in KFOR's Op REHEARSAL exercise. They will be testing the SRF processes and working alongside other NATO forces in the region. It is another demonstration of UK commitment to KFOR and provides an enhanced UK footprint over the autumn period.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 October 2022 to Question 49066 on Ukraine: Military Aid, how many Ukrainian armed forces personnel have trained in the UK as part of Operation Interflex in each month since June 2022.

James Heappey: As of 11 October 2022, we have trained over 6,100 Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel under Op INTERFLEX. An approximate monthly breakdown for this figure, from the start of training in June 2022, is illustrated in the table below. MonthApproximate Numbers trainedJune & July2,200August2,300September*1,600Total6,100   * not all courses that started in September have completed.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which vehicles currently perform Armoured Reconnaissance roles in the British Army; and in what year each of those vehicle types first entered operational service.

Alec Shelbrooke: The vehicle currently performing the Armoured Reconnaissance role in the British Army is the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) CVR(T).The CVR(T), a light, tracked specialist recce vehicle with turret, entered service in 1972, and was upgraded in the early 2000s.

Ajax Vehicles: Procurement

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has sought external legal advice on the potential merits of taking legal action against General Dynamics for delays in the delivery of the Ajax armoured vehicle programme.

Alec Shelbrooke: The Ministry of Defence continues to work with General Dynamics to resolve the noise and vibration problems on Ajax while protecting the taxpayers' interests as per the contract. I am withholding any information in respect of legal advice as such disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

Ministry of Defence: Public Expenditure

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has been instructed by the Cabinet Office to find efficiency savings to its departmental budget.

Alec Shelbrooke: The Ministry of Defence has not received any new instructions to find efficiency savings. The Prime Minister has provided a clear commitment that defence spending will increase to 3% of GDP by the end of the decade.

Ministry of Defence: Official Hospitality

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the officials from his Department who will attend the Distinguished Visitors Day for the E-7 Wedgetail on 6 October 2022.

Alec Shelbrooke: This event has been rescheduled to 2023 to better align with other engagement opportunities. As such, the list of attendees will be developed as planning for this event matures and will be confirmed nearer the time.

Ministry of Defence: Public Expenditure

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2022 to Question 48229, what the total change in costs related to exchange rate fluctuation was; and what additional budget was allocated to each budget holder affected to ensure that the affordability of each equipment programme was not affected.

Alec Shelbrooke: The increase in costs related to exchange rate fluctuation at the beginning of the Department's latest ten year planning period was £403 million over ten years. This has been allocated to the Top-Level Budgets in Annual Budget Cycle 23.

Military Bases: Security Guards

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department outsources the security of UK military bases and facilities to any private contractors.

Alec Shelbrooke: I can confirm Defence utilises private contractors to provide security at certain UK military bases and facilities. Private contractors may only be used on Ministry of Defence (MOD) establishments in the UK subject to the MOD Guard Service (MGS) retaining 75% of all unarmed civilian guarding posts across the Defence Estate.

Military Bases: Energy

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last met with the Crown Commercial Services to discuss the impact of the energy crisis on the defence estate.

Alec Shelbrooke: Defence officials attend regular formal engagement sessions with Crown Commercial Services, as do all Government Departments.

Multi Role Ocean Surveillance Ship

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which commercial vessel will be converted to the UK's first Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the UK's first Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship is expected to enter service.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of building its first Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship in the UK.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there was a competitive tender for building the UK's first Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the total value of the contract to construct two specialist multi-role survey ships to defend undersea cables.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which organisation has been awarded the contract to construct two specialist multi-role ships to defend undersea cables.

Alec Shelbrooke: The first Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship is expected to enter service in 2023.As negotiations for the first of the two Multi-Role Surveillance ships announced by the Secretary of State for Defence on 3 October 2022 are still in progress, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.The procurement of the second ship is in the Concept Stage and no decisions have yet been made regarding the procurement strategy. No contract has yet been awarded for the construction of either ship.

HMS Prince of Wales: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when HMS Prince of Wales will be able to rejoin the operational fleet.

Alec Shelbrooke: HMS PRINCE OF WALES was due to sail to take part in operations off the United States before she moved to Rosyth for repairs to her propeller shaft. She arrived in Rosyth to prepare for dry dock repairs on Monday 10 October 2022. When those repairs are complete she will return to operations as soon as possible, reflecting our commitment to protect the nation and our allies.

Military Bases: Bus Services

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with Stagecoach on the frequency of bus routes to garrison towns remaining at acceptable levels.

Sarah Atherton: The Army regularly engages with the community and local authorities on matters which affect Service personnel and their families. The provision of local bus services is however a matter for the relevant council, and the Department has not held discussions with Stagecoach on this matter.

Ministry of Defence Police: Staff

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed by the Ministry of Defence Police in each year since 2010.

Sarah Atherton: The strength number for the Ministry of Defence Police on 31 March each year since 2010 is: Year2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022MDP ¹3,4643,3022,9492,6602,4972,5032,5362,5702,5332,5152,6432,7682,701NUCS ² 433480351253254235197196214227235230Total 3,7353,4293,0112,7502,7572,7712,7672,7292,7292,8693,0032,931 ¹ Ministry of Defence Police officers² Non-uniformed Civilian

Members: Correspondence

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when will he reply to the latter of 21 July 2022 from the hon. Member for Wentworth and Deane on the Fleet Solid Support Ships contract.

Alec Shelbrooke: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence, replied to the right hon. Member on 4 August 2022.

Export Control Joint Unit: Staff

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department worked in the Export Control Joint Unit in each year between 2018 and 2022 inclusive.

Mr Ben Wallace: The total number of civil servants working in the Export Control Joint Unit within the MOD in each year since 2018 is set out below: 2018 – 62019 – 102020 – 62021 – 72022 – 7

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Low Incomes

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of (a) freezing social security for 2023-24 and (b) uprate social security in line with the September 2022 rate of CPI inflation on the number of people living in (i) relative low income and (ii) absolute low income in (A) Cynon Valley parliamentary constituency, (B) Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority, (C) Wales and (D) the UK.

Victoria Prentis: The September 2022 rate of CPI inflation is not released until 19th October, so it is not possible to conduct any assessments using this figure at this time. It is not possible to produce a robust assessment of the impact of not uprating social security in line with inflation. Assessing the impacts of uprating benefits in line with inflation involves projecting forward every household’s income which is not possible to do with confidence.The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has a statutory obligation to undertake an annual review of State pensions and benefits. Her review will commence shortly, based on CPI in the year to September 2022, and on earnings growth in the year to May-July 2022. The latter figure was published on 11 October by the Office of National Statistics. The CPI figure will be published on 19 October. The Secretary of State’s decisions will be announced to Parliament shortly.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of uprating social security by the (a) July rate of earnings growth and (b) September 2022 rate of CPI inflation on the number of people living in (i) relative low income and (ii) absolute low income in (A) Cynon Valley parliamentary constituency, (B) Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority, (C) Wales and (D) the UK.

Victoria Prentis: The September 2022 rate of CPI inflation is not released until 19th October, so it is not possible to conduct any assessments using this figure at this time. It is not possible to produce a robust assessment of the impact of not uprating social security in line with inflation. Assessing the impacts of uprating benefits in line with inflation involves projecting forward every household’s income which is not possible to do with confidence.The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has a statutory obligation to undertake an annual review of State pensions and benefits. Her review will commence shortly, based on CPI in the year to September 2022, and on earnings growth in the year to May-July 2022. The latter figure was published on 11 October by the Office of National Statistics. The CPI figure will be published on 19 October. The Secretary of State’s decisions will be announced to Parliament shortly.

Cost of Living Payments: Pensioners

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of qualifying persons have received a Pensioner Cost of Living Payment to date; and when is rollout expected to be complete.

Victoria Prentis: Cost of Living payments are being paid automatically alongside the Winter Fuel Payments from mid-November and should be paid by 13 January 2023.

Cost of Living Payments: Care Homes

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department is making a cost of living payment to people living in a residential care home settings.

Victoria Prentis: We have kept the rules for the Cost-of-Living payments as simple as possible. This includes paying a flat rate to those in receipt of means-tested benefits regardless of household circumstance and paying the Disability Cost of Living Payment to those being paid the relevant benefit on the qualifying date. This was to ensure that we were able to develop the processes to deliver these payments quickly to those who most need the help with increased inflation. This includes those being paid a benefit where they were in a resident care home.

Food Banks: Voucher Schemes

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent advice she has issued to staff in her Department on issuing foodbank vouchers.

Victoria Prentis: No recent advice has been issued to staff on issuing foodbank vouchers. Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. Service delivery staff may signpost claimants to support as appropriate.

Unemployment: Young People

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of the Youth Offer on reducing unemployment for young people aged 16 to 24, in particular for young people who have complex needs and face multiple disadvantages.

Victoria Prentis: The Department of Work and Pensions Youth Offer provides individually tailored work coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are in the Universal Credit Intensive Work Search group. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain.The Youth Offer is subject to a Process Evaluation, with full findings expected to be shared internally by late 2023. This will inform any improvements or future changes to the Youth Offer policy. The evaluation plans which involve hearing from young people from a range of backgrounds and circumstances and those that work with them, on the services they receive to understand their effectiveness and enable us to make improvements as appropriate.There are also plans for an impact assessment of the effectiveness of the Youth Offer whose findings will be shared internally once available.   Official Labour Market Statistics are produced by the ONS. The latest data (June-August ’22) shows that 372,000 young people are unemployed, this is a decrease of 62,000 on the previous quarter and a decrease of 141,000 compared to pre-pandemic levels (Dec-Feb ’20).

Unemployment: Young People

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to address rising economic inactivity among young people aged 16 to 24.

Victoria Prentis: The government is committed to delivering targeted support for all young people, no matter what their start in life or the challenges they face, to give them the best chance of getting into and progressing in work. While there has been an increase in economic inactivity among young people, this is largely been driven by an increase in young people in full time education. As part of our work to support young people we regularly assess their situation and develop support which best serves their needs in the moment, as we did when we developed the Kickstart Scheme with the aim of protecting young people from the scarring effects of long-term unemployment.Youth employability coaches who support young people with multiple barriers in to work already have the flexibility to agree with the young person up to six weeks, in work support and through the in-work progression offer we will also be looking at how we can support young people who are working to progress and develop their careers.

Cost of Living Payments

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of qualifying persons have received a Cost of Living Payment to date; and when is rollout expected to be complete.

Victoria Prentis: The Department for Work and Pensions has published management information on the total number of means-tested benefit Cost of Living Payments made. As of 8 September 2022, 8,400,000 means-tested benefits Cost of Living payments, first payment, had been made. The information which will be updated as new payments are made can be found here: Cost of Living Payment management information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) It is not possible to determine what proportion of qualifying families have received a Cost of Living payment, as entitlement may not have been established at the time the payments were made. If an entitlement that would qualify for a payment is later established to have existed, a payment will then be issued at that time. The timetable for when cost of living payments are made is published here: Cost of Living Payment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number of its staff who are in receipt of Universal Credit.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number of Department for Work and Pensions staff who are subject to be moved into the Intensive Work Search regime within Universal Credit following the change to the Administrative Earning Threshold in September 2022, in each region of the UK.

Claire Coutinho: Employees claiming Universal Credit have no obligation to inform DWP they are receiving benefits.

Pension Funds

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Growth Plan on 23 September 2022, Official Report, column 933, on the viability of defined (a) benefit and (b) contribution schemes.

Alex Burghart: The Chancellors statement of 23 September 2022 on the Government’s Growth Plan set out a range of measures to support economic growth and encourage investment. UK pension schemes, including both defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes, are signficant institutional investors which can contribute to and benefit from a growing economy.The funding of defined benefit pension schemes has improved significantly in recent years and these schemes are mostly well funded and robust. Increased economic growth will provide investment opportunities with potential to increase their assets and improve funding further. Economic growth will also help defined contribution schemes to increase the value of the pension savings of their members and the proposed reforms of the charge cap announced by the Chancellor will encourage investment in a broader range of assets including less liquid assets like renewable infrastructure projects and UK start-up businesses, for example.It is important that defined benefit and defined contribution schemes continue to review the resilience and liquidity of their investment strategy, risk management and funding arrangements and the Pensions Regulator has published guidance to support pension scheme trustees to do so.

Cost of Living Payments: Disability

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of qualifying persons have received a Disability Cost of Living Payment to date; and when is rollout expected to be complete.

Victoria Prentis: The Department for Work and Pensions has published management information on the total number of Disability Cost of Living Payments made. As of 8 September 2022, 6,000,000 Disability Cost of Living payments, first payment, had been made. The information which will be updated as new payments are made can be found here: Cost of Living Payment management information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) It is not possible to determine what proportion of qualifying people have received a Cost of Living payment, as entitlement may not have been established at the time the payments were made. If an entitlement that would qualify for a payment is later established to have existed, a payment will then be issued at that time. The timetable for when cost of living payments are made is published here: Cost of Living Payment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Credit

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people eligible for pension credit claim (a) nationally and (b) in York and (c) in York Central.

Alex Burghart: Estimates for the number of people eligible for Pension Credit are only available at the Great Britain level and are available in the “Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up” publication which can be found on the statistics section of gov.uk. The latest publication relates to the financial year 2019 to 2020. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-financial-year-2019-to-2020

State Retirement Pensions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions has she had on the potential merits of the pensions triple lock.

Alex Burghart: The Government has committed to implementing the Triple Lock in the usual way for 2023/24 and the remainder of the Parliament.

Poverty

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to help prevent people from living in poverty in later life.

Alex Burghart: The Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty. We are forecast to spend over £134 billion on benefits for pensioners in 2022/23. This amounts to 5.4% of GDP. This includes spending on the State Pension which is forecast to be over £110bn in 2022/23. The full yearly amount of the basic State Pension will have risen by over £2,300 since 2010. The Government has committed to implementing the Triple Lock in the usual way for the remainder of the Parliament. There are currently around 1.4m pensioners claiming some £5bn of Pension Credit which provides financial support to help with day-to-day living costs for people over State Pension age and on a low income and acts as passport to a range of additional support, including help with rent and Council Tax, as well as energy bills. In addition to these current measures, to reduce the risk of poverty for future pensioners, automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has transformed pension participation for millions of workers. To date, over 10.7 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, with over 2 million employers complying with their duties. With these changes, an estimated additional real terms £33 billion was saved into workplace pensions in 2021 compared to 2012. Furthermore, the Mid-Life MOT helps people plan for employment in later life and a financially secure retirement, through reviewing their finances, health and skills. Following the success of tests delivered through ten Local Enterprise Partnerships in 2021, the Government has announced a £5m expansion of the Mid-life MOT initiative. As part of the expansion, Mid-life MOTs will be delivered online, in the private sector and through the Department for Work and Pensions national network of jobcentres. Further detail was announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 6 July 2022 which can be found here. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-07-06/hcws183

Pay: Private Rented Housing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications of differential increases in (a) wages and (b) private rent for her Department's policies, in the context of lower growth in wages than private rent since 2016.

Alex Burghart: No assessment has been made.

Bereavement Support Payment: Cohabitation

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when changes to the eligibility criteria for Bereavement Support Payments for cohabiting couples will take effect.

Claire Coutinho: On 11 October 2022, we laid the draft Bereavement Benefits (Remedial) Order 2022 to extend Widows Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Support Payment to cohabitees with dependent children. It will lay in Parliament for a 60-day period. The draft Order will be debated, and voted upon, in both Houses of Parliament before the Order can become law. You can find more information in the proposed draft Order and Explanatory Memorandum, which can be accessed on GOV.UK. We cannot at this stage say when the Order will become law and people will be eligible to claim, that will depend on the Parliamentary process.

Universal Credit

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing the taper rate of Universal Credit.

Victoria Prentis: The Government has consistently said that the best way to support people’s living standards is through good work, better skills, and higher wages. We want people to see their income increase when they start working or earn more, so we reduce their Universal Credit award by less than they are earning. These policies are kept under regular review with the most recent changes announced at the Autumn Budget 2021 when decisive action was taken to make work pay by cutting the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, meaning that claimants will keep more of their earnings. We also increased the Work Allowance by £500 a year, this is the amount that households with children or a household member with limited capability for work can earn before their Universal Credit award starts to be tapered, meaning many claimants will be able to earn over £550 each month before their Universal Credit begins to be reduced. These two measures mean 1.7m households will keep on average, around an extra £1,000 a year. These changes represent an effective tax cut for low income working households in receipt of Universal Credit worth £1.9 billion a year in 2022-23. They will allow working households to keep more of what they earn and strengthen incentives to move into and progress in work.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 27677 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, on what grounds her Department decides to allow an (a) Personal Independence Payment, (b) Universal Credit or (c) Employment and Support Allowance appeal to lapse.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 27677 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, whether her Department reviews every appeal after it is lodged to determine whether to allow an appeal to lapse.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 27677 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, for what reason did the number of lapsed Personal Independence Payment appeals increase between 2013 and 2022.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 27677 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, if she will publish the guidance her Department uses to decide whether or not an appeal should be allowed to lapse.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 27677, If she will publish the guidance followed by her Department’s staff when they communicate with claimants to confirm whether or not an appeal has lapsed.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 27677 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, whether her Department informs representatives of claimants that an appeal has lapsed.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 27677 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, whether it is her Department's policy to inform claimants of a lapsed appeal by telephone only.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 27677 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, whether it is her Department's policy to inform claimants of a lapsed appeal by telephone only.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2022 to Question 27677 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, whether it is her Department's policy to provide written reasons for a lapsed appeal to claimants.

Claire Coutinho: Information about the processes and actions taken regarding lapsed appeals can be found in the guidance attached.To confirm: Where a decision is revised, and appeal lapsed, we will notify the claimant or their representative in writing setting out the reasons for the change of decision, and the relevant appeal rights. Where the revised decision does not give the claimant the level of award they were seeking on appeal the appeal will not be lapsed without agreement from the claimant and, where appropriate, their representative, either by telephone or in writing.The revision (and lapse) can be on any ground which has the effect of changing the decision in the claimant’s favour. Each case is considered on its own merits which of course means that the numbers lapsed will vary over time.Attachment (pdf, 196.3KB)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Incinerators

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to impose a moratorium on new build incinerators and withhold any increase in capacity requests to licences already in place until additional research on incinerator overcapacity has been concluded.

Trudy Harrison: Defra has no plans to introduce a moratorium on new energy from waste (EfW) capacity in England. In the Resources and Waste Strategy we committed to monitoring residual waste treatment capacity and we intend to publish a fresh analysis over coming months. Local authorities are responsible for determining their waste treatment capacity needs at a local level via Waste Local Plans and need to factor national policy measures being implemented into their forward planning. A proposed plant must not result in overcapacity of EfW waste treatment at a national or local level.

Sewage: Waste Disposal

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to bring into force section 83 of the Environment Act 2021.

Trudy Harrison: We’ve been consistently clear that the failure of water companies to reduce sewage discharges is unacceptable. In August, HM Government launched the most ambitious plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows in water company history. This plan set strict new targets that will see the toughest ever crack down on sewage spills and will require water companies to secure the largest infrastructure programme in water company history - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years. Our plan will protect the ecology of our rivers and seas, and the public health of our water users for generations to come. HM Government also put forward a raft of new laws to significantly reduce the use of storm overflows through the Environment Act, including the duty to reduce the adverse effects of discharges from storm overflows. The Environment Act placed new monitoring duties on the water industry to take action to improve transparency around the use of storm overflows. These duties will significantly improve transparency by making it a legal requirement for companies to provide discharge data to the Environment Agency and to make it available in near real time to the public. When we published our plan in August, we committed to bringing forward legislation to implement these duties in 2023.

Algae: Marine Environment

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect marine environments in the UK from harmful algae bloom.

Trudy Harrison: Harmful algal blooms are a naturally occurring phenomenon, and while it is rare to see impacts on the scale of the recent crustacean mortality incident in the North East, they have been implicated in mass mortality events previously. Monitoring of factors such as sea temperature can help to predict favourable conditions for the formation of algal blooms. We cannot entirely prevent them, but Cefas can and does monitor their impact.

Packaging: Recycling

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of rising costs of Packaging Recovery Notes on businesses, and if he will implement a cap on PRNs.

Trudy Harrison: We are aware that prices of PRN/PERNs have increased in recent months, in particular prices for glass PRN/PERNs. We have regular engagement with industry, through our Advisory Committee, and with the regulators to understand if there are any issues within the market and the likely impact on business.The UK operates a market-based mechanism to support the provision of evidence to show compliance with producers’ recycling obligations. Price fluctuations are a feature of any market system. Higher prices usually result from supply side issues, which in turn encourage increased activity by operators in the market, thereby increasing the level of reprocessing and reducing PRN prices. We will continue to keep the matter under review, but currently have no plans to intervene in the market and to cap PRN prices.

Animals: Imports

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the ban placed on the import of rescue animals from (a) Romania, (b) Ukraine, (c) Belarus and (d) Poland on animal rescue charities in the UK.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with regard to his Department's temporary suspension of the commercial import of dogs, cats and ferrets if they originate from or have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine until 29 October 2022, whether he plans to end that suspension after that date.

Scott Mann: HM Government made the difficult decision to extend the temporary suspension of commercial cats, dogs, and ferrets (including rescue animals) dispatched or originating from Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, and Poland to the 29th October 2022. We understand the fluid situation at present due to the crisis and are aware that Romania, Belarus and Poland are currently experiencing high volumes of animal movements from Ukraine. Movements from these countries into Great Britain therefore present a higher risk at the current time due to the flow of animals from Ukraine. In particular, there is evidence to suggest that commercial consignments of pet animals from Ukraine are being moved into Poland, Romania and Belarus, including strays, rescue and abandoned animals. Unlike non-commercial pets accompanying Ukrainian refugees, these animals often have unknown history and disease status which increases the risk of disease spread. Our standards of biosecurity are among the highest in the world. HM Government takes the importation of pets seriously and is committed to preserving our high standards of biosecurity. The movement of commercial pets from Belarus, Poland, Romania and Ukraine represents a clear and serious enough biosecurity risk at the current time that we therefore consider the suspension of these movements necessary to protect the health of people and pets in Great Britain. This risk has been exacerbated further by serious cases of non-compliance. There is a history of non-compliant movements of rescue animals into Great Britain from this region, which further increases the biosecurity risk. We continue to engage with competent authorities in impacted countries, the European Commission, and external partners (including rescue and rehoming charities) to gather data and information to enable us to keep the biosecurity risks in relation to the introduction of rabies or the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis to Great Britain under review and to assess the impact of the suspension. The measure is under constant review based on the evidence provided to ensure it is targeted and proportionate to the risks posed. HM Government appreciates the work of rescue and rehoming organisations who work to ensure that unwanted and abandoned animals are given the opportunity to find a forever home whilst complying with our animal health and welfare legislation. That is why this is only a temporary measure, to ensure that we protect our biosecurity at this challenging time. Given the consequences of getting this wrong, I hope you will understand why we are being cautious.

All Party Parliamentary Group on Rural Health and Social Care

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason his Department's second report on rural proofing made no reference to the work undertaken by the APPG on Rural Health & Social Care and its report looking at rural health and care provision.

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason his Department's second report on rural proofing, Delivering for rural England, published on 3 September 2022, does not make reference to specific social care policies in relation to rural areas.

Scott Mann: My Department works across HM Government to compile the annual report on rural proofing which is based on contributions provided by individual Departments in respect of the policy areas for which they are responsible. The Department of Health and Social Care leads on the provision of health and care services to rural communities and the report published on 3rd September describes the significant work being done to address issues of rurality in delivering those services.

Marine Environment: North East

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Section 4 of the report of the Joint agency investigation into Teesside and Yorkshire Coast Crab and Lobster mortalities, published on 31 May 2022, what conclusions have been reached by the Centre for Environment Fisheries & Aquaculture Science investigation commissioned by his Department to (a) ensure better preparedness for any future incident, (b) further investigate the indicative results relating to pyridine, particularly in relation to its formation as part of a ‘normal’ biological process during decomposition and (c) examine the physiological impacts of high levels of algal toxins on crustacean physiology.

Mark Spencer: The lessons learnt from the incident investigation highlight that effective cross-agency collaboration is essential to an effective investigation. Defra will look continually to improve this process.Research and development work on pyridine is ongoing. CEFAS is developing and validating a chemical detection test to measure the amounts of pyridine in crab tissues, assessing pyridine levels in crab tissue collected last year from within and outside of the area of impact, and testing the theory that pyridine can be a natural by-product associated with the decomposition process in crabs. The same project will work to better understand the potentially harmful effects of toxins and harmful algae on crab health. This work is highly complex but is expected to be completed in March 2023.

CF Industries: Billingham

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the British agricultural sector of the decision of CF Fertilisers to halt ammonia production at its Billingham plant.

Trudy Harrison: CF Fertilisers produces ammonium nitrate fertiliser and nitric acid in the United Kingdom at Billingham. As a result of high gas prices the company has temporarily decided to import ammonia from overseas, rather than producing it on-site. The company expects to fulfil all ammonia and nitric acid contracts and all orders of Ammonium Nitrate contracted for delivery in the coming months. The supply and price of these products is a commercial matter for CF Fertilisers, and we expect supply to continue. While global fertiliser prices have risen, the supply chain providing imports of fertiliser to the UK has remained dynamic. We are continuing to monitor the security and stability of fertiliser and other supply chains and work closely with colleagues across HM Government and devolved administrations as well as industry figures.

Floods: Bolton South East

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an urgent assessment on the repeated flooding to Riverside Drive, in Bolton South East constituency.

Trudy Harrison: The River Irwell at Kearsley Flood Risk Management Scheme, which covers the communities of Prestolee and Stoneclough in Bolton, remains a priority project for the Environment Agency (EA) and its partners given the devastating floods which affected the lives of residents in December 2015 and February 2020. The EA has previously detailed (under PQ23256) a number of significant engineering challenges which have been revealed following ground investigation studies. The project team continue to work through these challenges with the EA’s consultants and contractors, in order to define a preferred option. The findings will have an impact on cost, construction method, and disturbance to residents during construction. In response to this, the project team continue to carefully weigh up, through analysis and design workshops with consultants and partners, the most effective method of reducing flood risk within the area. The project team will meet the Riverside Drive Flood Action Group in November to be available for questions and answers, and will ensure that Yasmin Qureshi MP is offered a pre-briefing.

Solar Power: Land Use

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of Grade (a) 4 and (b) 5 land would be suitable for building of solar farms.

Trudy Harrison: The Agricultural Land Classification uses grades 1 to 5 to determine the quality of agricultural land. A combination of climate, topography and soil characteristics and their unique interaction determines the limitation and grade of the land. The highest quality agricultural land is known as ‘Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land’, defined in the National Planning Policy Framework and Natural England’s guide to assessing development proposals on agricultural land as land in grades 1, 2 and 3a. Grades 4 and 5 fall outside this definition as they are classed as poor and very poor-quality agricultural land respectively. This means that the land has severe limitations, which significantly restricts the range and level of yield of crops. Defra does not hold data on the generic suitability of grades 4 and 5 for solar farms. The development of large-scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic farms is regulated through the planning system. Planning policy is clear that there is preference to use poorer-quality agricultural land over higher quality. There is also a need through planning guidance to show that any development of agricultural land is necessary.

Marine Environment: North East

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report of the Joint agency investigation into Teesside and Yorkshire Coast Crab and Lobster mortalities published on 31 May 2022, if he will commission an independent expert analysis of the data and materials contained in that report.

Mark Spencer: All raw data informing the conclusions of the joint agency investigation will be published shortly. This is a complex area of research, and we will continue to work with universities and other experts to understand it better.

Marine Environment: North East

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report of the Joint agency investigation into Teesside and Yorkshire Coast Crab and Lobster mortalities published on 31 May 2022, if he will publish all ministerial correspondence in connection with that investigation and report with (a) the Environment Agency, (b) the Centre for Environment Fisheries & Aquaculture Science and (c) the Marine Management Organisation.

Mark Spencer: All raw data informing the conclusions of the joint agency investigation is currently undergoing accessibility formatting and will be published shortly. Defra does not routinely publish all Minister’s correspondence and has no plans to do so in this case.

PD Ports

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the context of the Joint agency investigation into Teesside and Yorkshire Coast Crab and Lobster mortalities published on 31 May 2022, (a) what recent discussions his Department has had with PD Ports Teesport and (b) if he will publish all ministerial correspondence with that company on its dredging activities.

Mark Spencer: In accordance with guidelines, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) engaged with PD Ports Teesport to ensure all dredged material was suitable for disposal at sea prior to being licenced. Additional checks were conducted by MMO during the investigation to review dredging activity and ensure all disposals at sea were conducted in line with the licences issued and relevant conditions within these. There was no Ministerial correspondence with PD Ports Teesport.

River Tees: Pyridine

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the levels of pyridine in marine species fished in the River Tees estuary, and (b) the possible health risks of those species for human consumption.

Mark Spencer: The European Chemicals Agency states that pyridine is not considered persistent, toxic, and likely to bioaccumulate. It is also not considered a contaminant of concern for marine sediment under OSPAR (the convention for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic), due to its high solubility in water. On this basis, pyridine is not routinely tested for in the same way as other, recognised contaminants of concern. A substance likely to be pyridine was detected in crab tissue as part of the 2021 mortality incident investigation. However, the method used is not validated for tissue detection and so the numerical results are not conclusive. Research is ongoing to validate a method of tissue detection which will then confirm the concentrations of pyridine observed. There is very limited potential for pyridine to be present within species for human consumption due to its low likelihood to bioaccumulate.

Agriculture: Energy

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the context of rising prices for feed, fertiliser and fuel, if he will take steps to provide extra support with energy costs to farmers and crofters.

Mark Spencer: While no national Government can control the global factors pushing up the cost of energy, we will continue to support British farmers and crofters. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to ensure that all businesses, including chemical companies, and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. Non-domestic customers do not need to take action or apply to the scheme – support will automatically be applied to bills. HM Government is also supporting businesses to improve their energy efficiency by at least 20% by 2030. This could deliver up to £6 billion in cost savings by 2030. We have extended the Energy Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme by three years and more than doubled its budget. We have also provided these sectors with broader support, bringing forward half of this year’s BPS payment as an advance injection of cash to farm businesses. Payments will be paid in two instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period. We have issued statutory guidance providing clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter. We have delayed changes to the use of urea fertiliser until spring 2023 and introduced new slurry storage grants to help farmers comply with the Farming Rules for Water, reducing dependence on artificial fertilisers.

Livestock Industry: Skilled Workers

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help address skills shortages in the red meat industry.

Mark Spencer: HM Government supports a competitive red meat sector and we are working closely with industry to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the sector's workforce.The Skilled Worker route is open to all those eligible who wish to come to the UK to work in a skilled job they have been offered, including butchers in the red meat industry. This is coupled with an emphasis on employers investing in, and training, the domestic workforce. Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and farming sectors among the United Kingdom workforce. HM Government and industry have also established a new professional body for the farming industry: The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH). TIAH will enable the industry to drive greater uptake of skills, creating clear career development pathways, and promoting the sector as a progressive, professional, and attractive career choice.As announced in the Government Food Strategy in June, HM Government has now commissioned an independent review which will consider how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour can contribute to tackling labour shortages in the food supply chain. The review will focus on farming, processing, and food and drink manufacturing as sectors which are critical for food production and food security.

Agricultural Products: Exports

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the change in agri-food exports from Northern Ireland to Japan between 2019 and 2021.

Mark Spencer: According to the latest HM Revenue and Customs’ regional overseas trade data, agri-food exports from Northern Ireland to Japan were estimated to be worth £6.47 million in 2019 and £11.06 million in 2021.

Home Office

Immigration: Applications

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with section 3C leave are currently waiting for a decision on an outstanding application for leave to remain.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's current service standard processing time is for applications for leave to remain by individuals with 3C leave; and what proportion of such applications have been processed within that service standard.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office does not hold data on how many applications are pending for leave to remain broken down by 3C status. Once a valid, in time application has been made to the Home Office (for leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain), an individual is permitted to remain in the UK on the same conditions as their most recent lawfully granted period of leave.As we do not hold data in the format requested, the Home Office cannot provide that answer without disproportionate cost as the requested information could not be provided without a manual search of all the applications per year. However, the transparency data, which is published quarterly, provides outstanding applications by specific route and can be found here: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Customer Service Standards (CSS) are agreed departmentally and are immigration route specific. We publish our current service standards on gov.uk for both in-country and out of country applications, which includes details of current operational processing times, so customers have a realistic indication of how long their applications will take to be processed. We encourage customers to continue to refer to these updates as our processing times change on a regular basis. The link to this guidance for in-country applications is: Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and out of country applications is: Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Migrant Workers: Visas

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of the Skilled Worker visa for increasing the level of labour in key sectors in the context of a decline in immigration from Europe since the UK left the EU.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Secretary has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of subjects, including immigration. Discussions among Cabinet colleagues are considered confidential. Any policy changes will be announced to Parliament in due course.

Refugees: Ukraine

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many sponsors of refugees from Ukraine arriving in the UK been found to have had criminal convictions.

Tom Pursglove: Appropriate checks are carried out on each sponsor; however, the information requested is not published.

Immigration Controls

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the impact points-based immigration system on availability of labour in (a) manufacturing, (b) transport and (c) other sectors; and if she will take steps to help tackle these skills shortages.

Tom Pursglove: Visa routes under the points-based immigration system allow firms to attract skilled workers across a range of sectors including manufacturing and transport. However, labour market issues should not be resolved through Government intervention alone. Immigration must be considered alongside investment in, and development of, the UK’s domestic labour force. An early insights evaluation of the Skilled Worker route was published on 15 July 2022: Skilled Worker visa: early insights evaluation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The Home Office is continuing to develop plans to evaluate immigration routes introduced under the points-based immigration system.

Asylum: Interviews

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many substantive interviews for asylum applications her Department has carried out in the last 12 months.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office is unable to state how many substantive interviews for asylum applications have been carried out in the last 12 months, because this data is not held in a reportable format, not routinely published and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration, for main claimant only. This data can be found at Asy_04 of the published Immigration Statistics:List of tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The Home Office is committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay; that individuals who need protection are granted asylum as soon as possible, so that they can start to integrate and rebuild their lives.

Asylum: Rwanda

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many payments were made to the Government of Rwanda in addition to the initial funding pledged as part of the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund in the last 12 months; and what was the (a) total value and (b) purpose of such payments.

Tom Pursglove: The UK has provided Rwanda with an initial investment of £120m as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership. The UK is also funding the processing costs for each person relocated, such as caseworkers, legal advice, translators, accommodation, food, healthcare, and for those granted protection, a comprehensive integration package to help them put down roots and start a new life. The UK has also made a £20m upfront payment to the Government of Rwanda to support initial set up costs.

Immigration Controls: Airports

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce dedicated entry channels for UK nationals only at UK airports.

Tom Pursglove: Whilst there are currently no plans to change queuing arrangements at the UK Border, those arrangements remain under constant review in order to prioritise security, maintain fluidity and ensure that we continue to run our border in the UK's best interests.As the quickest and most efficient method of crossing the border, we encourage all eligible passengers to make use of the e-Gates at our ports of entry where possible.

Home Office: Procurement

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,for how many of her Department's procurement contracts have interested parties signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Tom Tugendhat: The Home Office does not hold the information sought at required level of granularity, and the data would only be available at disproportionate cost.

Notting Hill Carnival: Police

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost was of policing the 2022 Notting Hill Carnival; and whether any contributions towards that cost were received from (a) charities, (b) businesses and (c) other organisations.

Jeremy Quin: The Home Office does not hold this information.

Police: Blackpool

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much additional funding, including through Project ADDER, has been provided to (a) combat drug crime and (b) support general policing in Blackpool in the last 12 months.

Jeremy Quin: This Government’s 10-year Drug Strategy, underpinned by significant investment, sets out a whole system approach to reducing drug-related crime, harms and overall drug use. This includes £300m of dedicated investment over three years to drive work on tackling drug supply and county lines.Through Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) we are trail-blazing a whole-system response to combatting drug misuse in 13 hardest hit areas across England and Wales. Project ADDER in Blackpool has provided the Lancashire Constabulary with over £650k of dedicated enforcement funding in 2021/22, with a further £575k provided for 2022/23. In total, Blackpool’s Project ADDER funding allocation will be £1,925,000 for 2022/23, which includes both health and enforcement funding.Police funding for the Lancashire Constabulary more generally will be up to £343.7m in 2022/23, an increase of up to £17.9m when compared to 2021/22. Decisions on how to use this funding are an operational matter for Chief Constables.

Motor Vehicles: Anti-social Behaviour

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Section 59 of the Police Reform Act as a deterrent for the use of off road bikes and four by four vehicles in instances of anti social behaviour.

Jeremy Quin: The police have the power under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles, including off-road motorbikes and four by four vehicles being used in an anti-social manner.Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for the police.

Members: Correspondence

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will respond to the query from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton sent to the Urgent Queries box on 23 August 2022 on Hawzheen Ahmad Weysi.

Tom Pursglove: We have been unable to find any trace of the correspondence being sent to the Urgent Queries inbox on 23 August 2022. We do have a record of receiving an enquiry from your caseworker to the MP Enquiry Line on the same day in which they were provided with an update on the status of this case.

Members: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department intends to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated (a) 25 May 2022, (b) 5 July 2022 and (c) 5 August 2022, reference AK50924.

Tom Pursglove: I apologise for the delay. UK Visas and Immigration, MP Account Management team responded on 11 October 2022.

Police: Complaints

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made in the Independent Office of Police Conduct investigation announced on 4 July 2022 into allegations of excessive use of force by Metropolitan Police Service officers at a protest over the arrest of a man by immigration officers in Peckham on 11 June 2022.

Jeremy Quin: The IOPC carries out its investigations independently of the Government. It provided a published update on the investigation relating to the Peckham protests on its website on 4th July 2002, when it also appealed for witnesses. I have notified the IOPC's Director General of this question so that he can respond directly or provide a further update.

Asylum

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how many asylum decision-makers are currently working in her Department and (b) how this number compares to the number of asylum decision-makers who were working in her Department in each calendar year since 2010.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office currently employs c.1074 asylum decision makers. There are recruitment strategies in place, with the aim of increasing staffing and reducing the number of cases awaiting a decision and increasing outputs.The Home Office can provide the number of asylum decision makers from year ending 2012 up to year ending 2022. The data shows that we currently have the highest number of asylum decision makers since year ending 2012.This data can be found in ASY_04 of the published transparency data:Immigration Enforcement data: Q2 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Visas: Married People

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) her Department's target is for processing and (b) the average processing time was in the latest period for which data is available for a family visa for the spouse of a British citizen.

Tom Pursglove: An applicant applying for a family visa at entry clearance should get a decision within 24 weeks.Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).An applicant applying in the UK to extend a family visa (spouse or partner on a 5-year route to settlement) should get a decision within 8 weeks.Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).An applicant applying in the UK for settlement should get a decision within 6 months.Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Average processing times do not form part of any current transparency data for spouse/partner applications and are not published.The transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Asylum: Housing

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average monthly cost of accommodation for an asylum seeker was in (a) the UK and (b) Newcastle upon Tyne in the last 12 months.

Tom Pursglove: Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential; therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts(opens in a new tab).

Migrant Workers

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what specific steps her Department is taking to support people with Section 3C leave who are required to provide documentary proof of their immigration status as a condition of an offer of employment.

Tom Pursglove: If an individual is unable to present evidence of their right to work because of an outstanding, in-time Home Office application, employers are advised to contact the Home Office’s Employer Checking Service (ECS). The ECS will confirm from Home Office records if the applicant has lawful status as a result of the outstanding application and issue a Positive Verification Notice (PVN), providing the employer with a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty, enabling them to hire or extend the person’s contract. This is an established process that employers will be familiar with.Published guidance clearly stipulates that employers should provide individuals with every opportunity to demonstrate their right to work and must not discriminate against those with an outstanding, in-time application:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/illegal-working-penalties-codes-of-practice-for-employershttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-code-of-practice-on-avoiding-discrimination

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU Settlement Scheme applications are awaiting a decision.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office publishes data on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) in the ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)’.The latest published information on EUSS applications received and concluded to 30 June 2022, can be found in the quarterly summary data at EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, June 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).The published statistics include those applicants who are seeking to upgrade their status from pre-settled to settled status, repeat applicants, joining family members, and also those who have submitted late applications.Please note there has been a change in the frequency of the statistical information regarding the EU Settlement Scheme; moving from monthly to quarterly publication. The quarterly statistics will continue to provide updated information on the scheme, including monthly breakdowns of applications and conclusions. The latest quarterly release up to 30 June 2022 was published on 27 September.

Motor Vehicles: Recovery Orders

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the updated statutory fees guidance for recovery operators.

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to consult on the potential merits of the introduction of an electric vehicle statutory fee for recovery operators.

Jeremy Quin: The Home Office does not issue statutory fees guidance. The Home Office’s role is limited to setting the statutory fees which the Police and National Highways can levy when they have exercised their vehicle recovery powers. In May 2021, the Home Office launched a consultation seeking views on new levels of fees applied to the removal, storage and disposal of vehicles in England and Wales. The Home Office is finalising arrangements to publish the Government Response to the statutory fees is consultation shortly. The Government does recognise the changing situation involved in removal, storage, disposal and complexity recovering electric vehicles that contribute to additional costs and scenarios for electric vehicles.

Road Traffic Offences

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Metropolitan Police on preventing hit-and-run offences.

Jeremy Quin: Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for the Commissioner of the Police for the Metropolis. The Secretary of State has had no recent discussions specifically on this issue with the Commissioner.

Public Order: Leicester

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent incidents similar to the public disorder that occurred in Leicester on 20 September 2022.

Jeremy Quin: The police have comprehensive powers to deal with activities that spread hate or deliberately raise tensions through violence or public disorder. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the police. Police forces have routinely demonstrated that that they can appropriately mobilise in response to a variety of public order policing operations. The Home Secretary visited Leicester to better understand the causes of the disorder and what can be learned to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Migrant Workers: Wind Power

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 24576 on Migrant Workers: Wind Power, how many employers that used the Offshore wind workers Immigration Rules concession 2017 have applied for a sponsor licence since 1 July 2022.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her officials have had discussions with the Migration Advisory Committee on the effect of the Offshore Wind Workers Immigration Rules Concession 2017 on the Shortage Occupation List (a) since the concession was first introduced and (b) to date.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Regulated Qualification Framework levels are required for occupations subject to the Offshore Wind Workers Immigration Rules Concession 2017.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 24576, on Migrant Workers: Wind Power, whether she is taking steps to help ensure employers are recruiting offshore wind workers from the resident labour market before the expiration of the Offshore Wind Workers Immigration Rules Concession 2017 on 31 October 2022.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 24576, on Migrant Workers: Wind Power, how many (a) workers and (b) employers have made use of the Offshore Wind Workers Immigration Rules Concession 2017 since its introduction.

Tom Pursglove: The information is not held in the requested format.

Members: Correspondence

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2022 to Question 49740 on Members: Correspondence, what assessment she has made of the efficiency of transferring the responsibility for redacting detailed communications from a Government department to teams in MPs' offices.

Jeremy Quin: The use of single letters to MPs covering multiple cases is a temporary measure, but an integral part enabling us to respond effectively to the record number of enquiries over the past two years.Once the department has returned to meeting it’s 20-day service standard the use of these letters will cease.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Construction

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities,  what his policy is on housebuilders that fail to complete housing developments in the timescales they have committed to; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure housebuilders deliver on their housebuilding timeline commitment to house buyers.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing: Environment Protection

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the investment zones policy announced in the Growth Plan 2022 will allow for the creation of such zones in (a) National Parks and (b) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Dehenna Davison: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Levelling Up Fund

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to revise levelling up funding commitments in the context of rising inflation.

Dehenna Davison: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the standard method for calculating local housing need provided by his Department for local authorities.

Lee Rowley: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Government Finance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of inflation on local authority budgets for the next 12 months.

Paul Scully: The Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. The additional funding, we have made available is the largest cash-terms increase in grant funding provided through the settlement in the past 10 years.We do, however, recognise that inflation forecasts are higher than they were at the Spending Review. Local authorities will benefit from the new Energy Bill Relief Scheme. Through this we will provide a discount on energy prices this winter for local authorities whose bills have been significantly inflated by the global energy crisis. The Government is also launching a £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund, which is the first step and will inform further action from next year to rebalance funding across health and care.Beyond these steps, we are working closely with the sector, as we always do, to understand what the impact of cost and demand pressures will be on service delivery and budgets. We will set out more details later this year at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.

Local Government Finance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to review local government funding; and what the timetable is for that review.

Paul Scully: We recognise how important planning certainty is to councils' budget setting processes and to delivering excellent public services. We also understand councils need clarity on the funding settlement next year The Government understands the sector's desire for clarity on distribution reform and review of local government funding. These are complex issues which must be addressed openly with representatives from local government.

Local Government: Inflation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to provide additional financial support to local authorities in the current financial year in the context of rising inflation.

Paul Scully: The Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. The additional funding, we have made available is the largest cash-terms increase in grant funding provided through the settlement in the past 10 years.Local authorities will benefit from the new Energy Bill Relief Scheme. Through this we will provide a discount on energy prices this winter for local authorities whose bills have been significantly inflated by the global energy crisis.The Government is also launching a £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund, which is the first step and will inform further action from next year to rebalance funding across health and care.Beyond these steps, we are working closely with the sector, as we always do, to understand what the impact of cost and demand pressures will be on service delivery and budgets.

Housing: Energy

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many new homes with an energy efficiency rating of D to G have been built in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022.

Paul Scully: The data on new build Energy Performance Certificates for (a) 2019, (b) 2021 and (d) 2022 (Quarters 1 and Q2 only), are published in DLUHCs EPC statistics live tables . However, the way the data are collected means that new build property EPC ratings cannot be distinguished from new properties stemming from change of use or conversions, where the EPC rating maybe lower, particularly if the structure of the previous building was less energy efficient.

Housing: Fire Prevention

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to publish final developer remediation contracts.

Paul Scully: The Government published a draft of the developer remediation contract on 13 July 2022 and has since received comments and held discussions on the draft with various parties. We are in advanced negotiations with developers and will publish the contract once it has been finalised.

Local Government Services: Pay

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will provide additional financial support to local authorities in the financial year 2023-24 to support pay rises in line with inflation for (a) care workers, (b) social workers and (c) those working in refuse collection.

Paul Scully: The Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England, which equates to an increase of up to £3.7 billion compared to 2021/22.Local government pay is negotiated between the National Joint Councils employer and union representatives. Pay is ultimately a decision for local councils, and it is the responsibility of employers to make an assessment on what is affordable within the overall available resources.We are working closely with the sector, as we always do, to understand what the impact of cost and demand pressures will be on service delivery and budgets in 2023/24. We will set out more details later this year at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.

Housing: Fire Prevention

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of professionals who are qualified to undertake fire risk appraisals of external wall construction in accordance with the code of practice entitled PAS 9980:2022.

Paul Scully: We recognise the importance of an appropriately skilled workforce to assess the risk to life of fire in buildings, in line with the new British Institutions Standard PAS 9980. We are continuing to work with the fire safety sector to develop a sustainable, long-term workforce equipped with the necessary skills to assess the fire risk of external walls. This includes engagement with firms to establish existing market capacity as well as measures to invest in long-term training and improved career pathways for fire risk professionals.

Housing: Fire Prevention

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the fund to mitigate against life safety fire risks associated with cladding on mid-rise residential buildings that are 11-18m in height in cases where a Responsible Entity can demonstrate that other options to cover costs are unavailable will be open for applications.

Paul Scully: The Government is launching a new 11-18m cladding remediation scheme to fund work on buildings where a responsible developer cannot be identified.  We are planning to open the scheme on an interim basis, initially targeting a small number of high-risk buildings in interim measures. Details of the 11-18m Remediation Fund will be announced as soon as they are ready.

Owner Occupation

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of home owners in each constituency.

Lee Rowley: The department runs the English Housing Survey (EHS), which collects data on the number and proportion of households in each tenure. We have published data on the number and proportion of households in owner occupation in each region, for the most recent year of data collection (2020-21). However, due to sample size, the EHS cannot give robust figures at the constituency level.   For the most recently published data, the number of owner-occupied households in each region is as follows:North East752North West2,151Yorkshire and the Humber1,518East Midlands1,399West Midlands1,620East of England1,794South East2,754South West1,752London1,799  total15,540 Full details are available in the 20-21 Private Rented Sector report, at annex table 1.2, available on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2020-to-2021-private-rented-sector.

Refugees: Ukraine

Allan Dorans: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September 2022 to Questions 47651 on Refugees: Ukraine, whether he plans to provide a substantive Answer to that Question.

Paul Scully: The Ukraine Family Scheme was set up to act as a light touch, temporary alternative to the existing family migration routes which existed before the Ukraine conflict The UK-based family member is expected to provide support and accommodation for those coming to join them under the Family Scheme. We are aware however that in some cases, living arrangements for those on this scheme have not been able to be maintained We have been engaging with stakeholders in local government, the devolved administrations, and the voluntary and community sector in order to inform the consideration of our options for the Ukraine visa schemes.

Homelessness: Young People

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to help tackle youth homelessness.

Paul Scully: In September 2022, the Government published 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good'. The strategy recognises that young people face particular challenges. That is why we will be encouraging priority local authorities to bid for youth-specific supported accommodation as a part of our new Single Homelessness Accommodation Project (SHAP).Additionally, £2.4 million of the Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 is going towards funding youth services in local areas. A £3.2 million investment is being provided in 2022/23 for targeted support, through specialist advisors, to young people leaving care most at risk of homelessness and rough sleeping. This will be expanding from 56 to 69 local authorities.We have also put in place bespoke support for local authorities through our Homelessness Advice and Support Team, which includes dedicated youth homelessness advisor roles that have a commitment to work with local authorities to proactively promote positive joint working across housing authorities and children's services, offering training, advice and support to all local authorities.

Cabinet Office

10 Downing Street

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September to Question 48294 on 10 Downing Street, (a) who paid for the lectern to be (i) transported to the governing party’s conference in Birmingham for the Prime Minister’s speech on 5 October and (ii) returned to Downing Street following that speech and (b) whether the lectern is now considered to be owned by the Cabinet Office, the governing party, or the Prime Minister herself.

Edward Argar: As set out in my previous answer, PQ 48294, the use of the lectern has been kindly provided by the Conservative Party, who own the item. The Conservative Party funded its transport to the recent party conference. The Government badge, when used for government events, is owned by HM Government.

Government Departments: Procurement

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to remove conflicts of interest in the government procurement process.

Edward Argar: There are specific legal duties in the Public Contracts Regulations that require government departments to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures, so as to avoid any distortion of competition and to ensure equal treatment of all bidders and suppliers.Companies may be excluded from bidding for government contracts where a conflict cannot be effectively remedied.An updated Procurement Policy Note was published in May 2021 on the management of actual and perceived conflicts of interest in order to provide commercial teams across government with further information on the roles and responsibilities of those involved in decision making, risk management and how provisions may be applied to suppliers.

Emergencies: Risk Assessment

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the National Risk Register.

Edward Argar: The National Risk Register (NRR) is the public-facing version of the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), a classified assessment of the national security risks facing the UK. The NRR is published by the Cabinet Office.Every risk in the NRR is owned and assessed by lead government departments working with a wide range of partners to coordinate, enact and test plans. The NRR is informed by the expertise of government departments, academia, private sector and the wider scientific community via a scientifically rigorous process.

Public Sector: Procurement

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of public procurement contracts were issued by private enterprise companies with Government framework agreements to contract on behalf of the public bodies in the latest period for which data is available.

Edward Argar: All Government Departments and their individual Arm's Length Bodies and agencies are responsible for their own public procurement contracts and are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts. This information is not centrally held for all government departments.Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.

Public Sector: Procurement

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage of public procurement is contracted directly from suppliers by public bodies.

Edward Argar: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally.

Government Departments: SThree

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish all correspondence on the granting of government contracts to SThree.

Edward Argar: Details of Government contracts above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Government Departments: Procurement

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if will make it his policy to apply a minimum liquidity threshold to companies applying to tender for Government contracts.

Edward Argar: The Sourcing Playbook includes a specific guidance note on “Assessing and monitoring the economic and financial standing of suppliers”, which provides advice on effective evaluation and monitoring both pre and post procurement and is relevant to all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non Departmental Public Bodies.Assessing and monitoring the economic and financial standing of suppliers is about understanding the financial capacity of suppliers to perform a contract in order to safeguard the delivery of public services.The guidance states that all assessments of bidders’ economic and financial standing should be proportionate, flexible, contract specific and not overly risk averse while ensuring protection of taxpayer value and safety and compliance with relevant procurement law.

Mark Fullbrook

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what basis Mark Fullbrook, the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, is employed.

Edward Argar: Mark Fullbrook is employed directly by the Government on a standard special adviser contract. The model special adviser contract can be found on gov.uk.

Mark Fullbrook

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Office's Propriety and Ethics team was informed that the FBI had asked the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, Mark Fullbrook, to cooperate as a witness in an active case on electoral bribery in Puerto Rico.

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, Mark Fullbrook, informed the Cabinet Office that he was a witness in an FBI investigation.

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Office sought legal advice on the continuation of Mark Fullbrook's role  as the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, following the disclosure of Mr Fullbrook's status as an witness in an FBI investigation.

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made for the implication of his policy of the professional relationship between Mark Fullbrook and the indicted Julio Herrera Velutini.

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office , what discussions the Prime Minister has had with Mark Fullbrook on his interview with the FBI in connection with bribery charges in Puerto Rico.

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has had discussions with (a) the National Crime Agency and (b) the Metropolitan Police on Mark Fullbrook's role in an FBI investigation.

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Prime Minister was informed of Mark Fullbrook's role as a witness in an FBI investigation into electoral bribery in Puerto Rico.

Nick Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has made an assessment of the potential implications of the professional relationship between Mark Fullbrook and Julio Herrera Velutini.

Edward Argar: It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on proceedings in a foreign country which do not involve the UK Government.However, I refer the Hon. Member to the statement issued by Mr Fullbrook which is in the public domain, and the recent apology and retraction issued to him by the Rt Hon Member for Tottenham.

List of Ministerial Responsibilities

Tim Farron: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish an updated List of Ministerial Responsibilities.

Edward Argar: A revised List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be published in due course. In the meantime, departments are updating their ministers' pages on GOV.UK which also include portfolio information.

Ministers: Leave

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 8 November 2021 to Question 68322 and 19 January 2022 to Question 105589 on Ministers: Leave, and with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 15 July 2021, HCWS185, when the Government plans to present a report to Parliament setting out considerations and proposals on adoption and parental leave, absences for sickness and other reasons, and unpaid roles.

Edward Argar: Policy development in these areas is ongoing. It remains the Government's intention to lay a report before Parliament in due course.

Local Resilience Forums

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to support local resilience forums.

Edward Argar: The 2021 Integrated Review committed the Government to considering how to strengthen support for Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) and this work is being taken forward by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The Cabinet Office is working closely with DLUHC on this commitment as well as to ensure LRFs are well supported in preparing for upcoming potential challenges.

Cabinet Office: Annual Reports

Christine Jardine: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the 2021-22 Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts will be published.

Edward Argar: The Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 is currently under review by the National Audit Office and is expected to be laid before the end of December.

Cabinet Office: Bullying and Discrimination

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to tackle (a) bullying and (b) discrimination within his Department.

Edward Argar: The Cabinet Office does not tolerate bullying, harassment or discrimination in any form. There are robust policies and processes in place to create a safe working environment and the Department actively encourages staff to report any inappropriate behaviour including bullying, harassment and discrimination.In October 2021, the Cabinet Office launched an independent Review into Respect & Inclusion to consider policies, practices and workplace culture in regard to fairness and inclusion in the Cabinet Office. The Department has accepted the independent report's recommendations and are implementing them in full, prioritising actions that will have the greatest immediate impact. This includes ensuring senior leaders are accountable for leadership of respect and inclusion issues.Additionally, Cabinet Office have our Fair Treatment Confidants Network where staff are trained to support and signpost their colleagues if they have experienced, witnessed or been accused of bullying, harassment or discrimination.

Government Departments: Meetings

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 September to Question 45769 on Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Aramco, what criteria are used to determine whether engagements are listed as hospitality or meetings in transparency data; and if he will make it his policy that all types of ministerial meeting must be declared as meetings in departmental transparency releases.

Edward Argar: Departments declare all meetings with external organisations and individuals on a quarterly basis. An external organisation means any group, company, organisation or individual person external to Government. Departments also declare all hospitality in accordance with these criteria on a quarterly basis. Where hospitality is provided as part of a meeting both elements should be declared.

Emergencies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the national resilience strategy.

Edward Argar: The Government intends to publish a resilience strategy this Autumn.

Government Departments: Secondment

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether individuals working for the Government on secondment are governed by the Civil Service Code of Conduct.

Edward Argar: Individuals seconded into Government are expected to observe the principles of the Civil Service Code as well as relevant departmental rules, policies and procedures relating to conduct and standards. It is standard process for this requirement to be made clear to the individual and their employer before the start of the secondment and to be detailed in a secondment agreement.

Ministers: Redundancy Pay

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was spent on severance pay for Ministers who were appointed on 8 July 2022 and who left office on or shortly after 6 September 2022.

Edward Argar: Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in departments’ annual reports and accounts.

Nuclear Weapons

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish how democratic oversight of government decisions will operate in the event of a nuclear attack on the UK.

Edward Argar: Consideration has been given to the preparation for various emergency scenarios. Due to national security considerations it would not be appropriate to disclose further information.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Japan

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 133933 on Trade Agreements: Japan, whether the first batch of 38 new UK geographical indications will be formally designated by the Japanese authorities by 24 October 2022.

Greg Hands: On 30 April 2021 the UK shared a list of 77 UK geographical indications (GIs) with Japan. All these GIs need to go through examination and opposition procedures in Japan, as required in their domestic procedures. Due to the large number of GIs, Japan requested they be split into two batches to facilitate the necessary domestic procedures in Japan. All 77 UK GIs will undergo Japan’s procedures as quickly as possible. Concurrently the UK will run procedures on a list of Japanese GIs provided by Japan. The intention is to protect the first tranche of UK GIs and Japanese GIs on the same date once these processes are complete.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Social Media: Epilepsy

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether it is her policy to ensure that protections for people with epilepsy from malicious posts designed to cause seizures will be included in the Online Safety Bill.

Damian Collins: The Government is committed to introducing a new offence of epilepsy trolling in the Online Safety Bill to address this appalling online abuse.

Churches: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking with the Church of England to help support the preservation of the Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Edward the Confessor in Romford.

Stuart Andrew: Whilst the government does not engage directly with the Church of England on providing support for specific places of worship, there is wider support for these sites available through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS). This is a scheme that provides grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed churches and cathedrals.The Government recognises that listed places of worship represent some of the nation’s finest heritage and that the growing costs of repairing and maintaining these significant historic church buildings is challenging. On this, the government maintains a close working relationship with the Church of England to understand these pressures and maintains the LPWGS as a source of support for the preservation of historic fabric.We have no record of the Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Edward the Confessor receiving funding from the LPWGS. However, from 2014 to present £237,726 has been offered to other listed places of worship in Romford.

Queen Elizabeth II: Public Statues

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Mayor of London on the potential merits of permitting the empty plinth of Trafalgar Square to host a permeant statue of Her late Majesty the Queen.

Stuart Andrew: No specific conversations have happened between the Secretary of State and the Mayor of London on this topic, however the government is grateful for the many suggestions received to commemorate the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II. The Government will carefully consider these suggestions as part of thinking about how we remember Her extraordinary legacy. Following the passing of the Deregulation Act 2015, consent from the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is no longer required to erect statues in London.

UK School Games: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide funding for the School Games beyond the 2022-23 financial year.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is committed to ensuring that children and young people can be physically active and to increasing the chances for children to take part in competitive sport. The School Games are a key part of this. Sport and physical activity provide important physical and mental health benefits and also help to develop vital social connections and leadership skills that will set young people up for life.In the academic year 2018/2019, 2.4 million opportunities were provided across inter- and intra-school level through the School Games across the country.The Government confirmed that the School Games Organisers will continue for the 2022/23 academic year and is considering the position beyond that point. We will provide further information shortly.

Older People: Fuel Poverty

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with voluntary and community sector organisations on the provision of warm banks for the elderly this winter.

Stuart Andrew: With government support, voluntary and community sector organisations have shown significant resilience over the past two years, and will again be crucial in supporting communities and households over the winter.My officials regularly engage with the sector on issues affecting them and the communities they serve, and we will continue to work with them to monitor the impact of rising energy costs facing the elderly.The Government has set out decisive action through the energy price guarantee to support households with their energy bills over the winter months, saving the average household at least £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. This is in addition to the £400 energy bills discount for all households and the £300 pensioner cost of living payment where applicable. These measures have been designed to help protect the most vulnerable, including the elderly, from rising energy costs this winter.The Government has also announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which will see charities supported with their energy prices through a six month energy price guarantee, equivalent to the support offered to households.

Football Governance Fan-led Review

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Government response to the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance, published on 25 April 2022, CP 658, when she plans to (a) publish the white paper on reforming football governance and (b) introduce an independent regulator.

Stuart Andrew: The Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022. We absolutely recognise the need for football to be reformed to ensure the game’s sustainability in the long term. We are now taking the time to consider the policy, but we remain committed to publishing a White Paper setting out our detailed response to the fan led review of football governance, and will set this out in due course.

Football Governance Fan-led Review

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will renew its commitment to introducing (a) an independent football regulator and (b) the other recommendations of the Crouch Review.

Stuart Andrew: The Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022. We absolutely recognise the need for football to be reformed to ensure the game’s sustainability in the long term. We are now taking the time to consider the policy, but we remain committed to publishing a White Paper setting out our detailed response to the fan led review of football governance, and will set this out in due course.

COP26

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Beth Winter: To ask the President of COP26, if he will hold discussions with the President of COP27 on the potential climate impact of increased gas (a) exploration and (b) extraction in the North Sea.

Beth Winter: To ask the President of COP26, if he will hold discussions with the President of COP27 on the potential climate impact of the North Sea Transition Authority's latest round of offshore licenses.

Alok Sharma: The COP President meets with the COP27 President, Minister Shoukry, on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues from negotiations outcomes to energy security and demand, including the climate impact of oil and gas.Energy security has had a raised profile this year due to Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We continue to discuss with our counterparts what is required domestically to meet both global energy demand and climate commitments.The UK is a world leader in renewable energy, particularly offshore wind which is set to increase by 50GW of offshore wind power by 2030. This expansion is part of our British Energy Security Strategy, which sets out how the UK will become more self-sufficient and move away from our reliance on oil and gas imports.

Climate Change: Caribbean

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the President of COP26, whether he has had recent discussions with his Caribbean counterparts on their call for a loss and damage funding facility to help tackle the impact of the climate emergency in that region.

Alok Sharma: Throughout the UK’s Presidency I have engaged with all parties, including my Caribbean counterparts, on the issue of loss and damage. During my time in New York this September, in the margins of UNGA, I engaged with the High Ambition Coalition. Addressing loss and damage will continue to be a priority for the UK Presidency in the run up to and at COP27.

Women and Equalities

Equal Pay: Ethnic Groups

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the gender pay gap was by ethnicity in the most recent period for which data is available.

Katherine Fletcher: ONS last published data on the average (median) hourly pay differences between men and women in different ethnic groups in 2019 from the Annual Population Survey.Pay differences between men and women vary by ethnic groups. While in most ethnic groups men earn more than women on average per hour, that is not the case in the Arab, Bangladeshi or black Caribbean ethnic groups.Where men earn more than women, the largest pay difference is for people from the Indian ethnic group, where men earn £4.10 more per hour on average. This is higher than the difference for the white British ethnic group, where men earn £2.57 more per hour.Median hourly pay, 17 ethnic groups by sex, England and Wales, 2019 Female MaleDifference between Male and Female pay (male minus female)Arab£12.49£12.10-£0.39Bangladeshi£10.60£10.41-£0.19Black Caribbean£12.09£12.03-£0.06Other black / African / Caribbean background£11.53£12.28£0.75White Irish£16.93£17.80£0.87Other ethnic group£11.11£12.03£0.92Other Asian background£11.06£12.16£1.10Other white (including Gypsy Traveller)£10.95£12.07£1.12Other mixed / multiple ethnic background£12.07£13.28£1.21Black African£10.92£12.13£1.21Pakistani£10.10£11.43£1.33White and Asian£12.50£14.43£1.93White British£11.21£13.78£2.57White and black African£10.13£12.82£2.69White and black Caribbean£9.71£12.76£3.05Chinese£14.16£18.05£3.89Indian£12.39£16.49£4.10Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Population Survey 2019The original data referred to in this answer and further information is available on the ONS website at the following location: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/articles/ethnicitypaygapsingreatbritain/2019#pay-gaps-by-sex